Painter. He acquired the craftsmanship of a locksmith in the Ganz factory, and later he worked there as a draughtsman and designer. In his free time he attended the evening classes in drawing organised for talented workers at the School of Applied Arts.

He lived in Paris from 1923. In 1926 the Zodiaque Gallery of Paris organised his first independent exhibition. After touring France for five years he returned and stayed in Nagybánya (Baia Mare, Romania) and in Szentendre for some periods. He settled in Rákoshegy with his wife in 1934, and this is where they lived for 32 years, until the end of his life. This is where he painted his oeuvre of significant aesthetic value.

The capital of Hungary could first see his works after his death, in an exhibition held in the Fényes Adolf Hall in 1967. This exhibition marked the 'discovery' of Gyula Czimra.

In the spring of 1973 an exhibition of the works of Gyula Czimra was held in the salon of the Hungarian National Gallery and this is where a part of the artist's collection of folk art objects was put on show, too. Influenced by the success of this exhibition the management of the National Gallery purchased from the widow of the artist nearly every major artwork of his oeuvre. Several of his paintings are kept in the Tornyai Museum of Hódmezővásárhely, the Rákospalota Museum and the Kiscell Museum.