Label TextAlthough he was often grouped with the American Regionalist painters who were his contemporaries, Burchfield rejected the association, claiming that instead of searching for an indigenous American aesthetic, he was responding to his personal surroundings, and the elemental forces of nature. Landscape painting was an emotional release for Burchfield, and the expressiveness of his work sometimes veers toward abstraction. A reoccurring subject throughout his career is the apocalyptic landscape, of which this watercolor is one. The sky and earth are blighted and gloomy, with sunlight completely nonexistent. Burchfield was often moved by individual trees, existing in this work as forlorn figures against the sky.
Exhibition History"On the Middle Border: The Art of Charles E. Burchfield," Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH, Sept. 15, 1996 - Nov. 10, 1997
"Charles Burchfield," organized and circulated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, (circulated to: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jan. 30 - Mar. 24, 1984; Milwaukee Art Museum, WI, Apr. 20 - June 17, 1984; Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Sept. 14 - Nov. 11, 1984)
"Amerika -- Traum und Depression 1920/40," exhibition organized by Neue Gesellschaft fur Bildende Kunst, West Germany, (circulated to: Akademie der Kunste, West Berlin, Nov. 9 - Dec. 28, 1980; Kunstverein, Hamburg, West Germany, Jan. 11 - Feb. 15, 1981)
"The Kirsch Years 1936-1958," a testimonial exhibition organized by the Des Moines Art Center and the University of Nebraska Art Galleries, Lincoln. Exhibition included works acquired during Dwight Kirsch's tenure as director at both museums: Des Moines Art Center, Jan. 7 - Feb. 10, 1974; University of Nebraska Art Galleries, Lincoln, Feb. 25 - Mar. 31, 1974
"The Nature of Charles Burchfield, A Memorial Exhibition," New York, Munson-Williams-Proctor Insitute, Apr. 9 - June 14, 1970
"Charles Burchfield, His Golden Years," Tuscon, University of Arizona, Nov. 14, 1965 - Jan. 9, 1966
Grinnell College, Burlington Library, Nov. 15, 1962 - Mar. 29, 1963
Grinnell College, Burlington Library, Nov. 9, 1961 - Feb.20, 1962
"The Painting of Light," Des Moines Art Center, Mar. 3 - 27, 1960
"Dallas County Art Day," Adel, Iowa, Oct. 4, 1958
"Charles Burchfield," Des Moines Art Center, Aug. 7 - Sept. 7, 1958
"Purchase Show" Des Moines Art Center, May 9 - June 2, 1957
"Charles Burchfield," Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, Jan. 4 - Feb. 10, 1957
Published ReferencesJohn I. H. Baur, LIFE AND WORK OF CHARLES BURCHFIELD 1893-1967, THE INLANDER, University of Delaware Press, Neward, Delaware and Cornwall Books, New York and London, 1984, b/w ill. p.181, fig.154, ref. p.183, also included in the checklist of the exhibition organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art," p.269
THE DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. pp.45 & 46, b/w ill. pl.25, p.45
"Amerika -- Traum und Depression 1920/40," Neue Gesellschaft fur Bildende Kunst, West Germany, 1980, cat. no.46
"The Painting of Light," Des Moines Art Center, 1960, cat. no.27
"The Nature of Charles Burchfield: A Memorial Exhibition," Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, N. Y., cat. no.786, ref. p.152
"The Kirsch Years 1936 - 1958," Des Moines Art Center and the University of Nebraska Art Galleries, Lincoln, 1974, cat. ref. no.7
Exhibition History"On the Middle Border: The Art of Charles E. Burchfield," Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH, Sept. 15, 1996 - Nov. 10, 1997
"Charles Burchfield," organized and circulated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, (circulated to: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jan. 30 - Mar. 24, 1984; Milwaukee Art Museum, WI, Apr. 20 - June 17, 1984; Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Sept. 14 - Nov. 11, 1984)
"Amerika -- Traum und Depression 1920/40," exhibition organized by Neue Gesellschaft fur Bildende Kunst, West Germany, (circulated to: Akademie der Kunste, West Berlin, Nov. 9 - Dec. 28, 1980; Kunstverein, Hamburg, West Germany, Jan. 11 - Feb. 15, 1981)
"The Kirsch Years 1936-1958," a testimonial exhibition organized by the Des Moines Art Center and the University of Nebraska Art Galleries, Lincoln. Exhibition included works acquired during Dwight Kirsch's tenure as director at both museums: Des Moines Art Center, Jan. 7 - Feb. 10, 1974; University of Nebraska Art Galleries, Lincoln, Feb. 25 - Mar. 31, 1974
"The Nature of Charles Burchfield, A Memorial Exhibition," New York, Munson-Williams-Proctor Insitute, Apr. 9 - June 14, 1970
"Charles Burchfield, His Golden Years," Tuscon, University of Arizona, Nov. 14, 1965 - Jan. 9, 1966
Grinnell College, Burlington Library, Nov. 15, 1962 - Mar. 29, 1963
Grinnell College, Burlington Library, Nov. 9, 1961 - Feb.20, 1962
"The Painting of Light," Des Moines Art Center, Mar. 3 - 27, 1960
"Dallas County Art Day," Adel, Iowa, Oct. 4, 1958
"Charles Burchfield," Des Moines Art Center, Aug. 7 - Sept. 7, 1958
"Purchase Show" Des Moines Art Center, May 9 - June 2, 1957
"Charles Burchfield," Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, Jan. 4 - Feb. 10, 1957
Published ReferencesJohn I. H. Baur, LIFE AND WORK OF CHARLES BURCHFIELD 1893-1967, THE INLANDER, University of Delaware Press, Neward, Delaware and Cornwall Books, New York and London, 1984, b/w ill. p.181, fig.154, ref. p.183, also included in the checklist of the exhibition organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art," p.269
THE DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. pp.45 & 46, b/w ill. pl.25, p.45
"Amerika -- Traum und Depression 1920/40," Neue Gesellschaft fur Bildende Kunst, West Germany, 1980, cat. no.46
"The Painting of Light," Des Moines Art Center, 1960, cat. no.27
"The Nature of Charles Burchfield: A Memorial Exhibition," Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, N. Y., cat. no.786, ref. p.152
"The Kirsch Years 1936 - 1958," Des Moines Art Center and the University of Nebraska Art Galleries, Lincoln, 1974, cat. ref. no.7
DimensionsFrame: 31 3/4 × 47 5/8 × 2 in. (80.6 × 121 × 5.1 cm)
Image (visual): 23 5/8 × 39 7/16 in. (60 × 100.2 cm)
Image (visual): 23 5/8 × 39 7/16 in. (60 × 100.2 cm)
Accession Number 1957.1
Classificationswork on paper
SignedCEB (l/r in paint)
Inscriptions1932 (l/r in paint)
ProvenanceArtist. (Frank K. M. Rehn, Inc., New York); Des Moines Art Center [gift of the previous, 1957]
