- Design Credit: Samantha Todhunter Design Ltd., Photo Credit: Oliver Clarke. Dimensions: H 23 in. x W 34 in.
- Design Credit: Lucy Harris Studio, Photo Credit: Francesco Bertocci. Dimensions: H 23 in. x W 34 in.
- Design Credit: Timothy Godbold, Photo Credit: Karl Simone. Dimensions: H 23 in. x W 34 in.
- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
Charles E. BurchfieldStudy for Skunk Cabbage, Watercolor Painting by Charles Burchfield 19311931
1931

About the Item
- Creator:Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967, American)
- Creation Year:1931
- Dimensions:Height: 23 in (58.42 cm)Width: 34 in (86.36 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Long Island City, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU466367842
Charles E. Burchfield
Born in Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio, Charles Burchfield became known as a town-landscape painter of middle-western America, and his paintings, drawings and prints have had much influence on succeeding generations of artists. He has also been described as a social critic, naturalist, and transcendental visionary whose sensitivities infuse his artwork. Of his impact on American art, Matthew Baigell wrote: "Few American artists have ever responded with such passion to the landscape or have made it such a compelling repository as well as mirror of their intimate feelings."
In addition to his painting, Burchfield was a teacher at the Art Institute of Buffalo from 1949 to 1952 and at the University of Buffalo from 1950 to 1952.
Burchfield's career can be divided into three phases. The first is landscapes based on childhood memories and fantasies and ended about 1918; the second, from 1918 to 1943, is Social Realism, including “grimy streets and rundown buildings of the eastern Ohio area,” and the third phase is a return to subject matter of his childhood and the “investing them with a kind of ecstatic poetry.” (Biagell 54)
Throughout Burchfield's career, watercolor was his preferred medium. Knowledge of Oriental art influenced him to use simple forms.
Burchfield spent his youth in Salem, Ohio, where he developed a keen interest in art and nature and was intensely aware of woodland sounds and noises. In 1912, he decided to become a painter and enrolled in the Cleveland School of Art, where his most influential teacher was Henry Keller. Another major Ohio influence on his painting was William Sommer, leader of the modernist movement in the Cleveland area. He introduced Burchfield to experimental watercolor techniques and color theory, and Burchfield began attending sessions of the Kokoon Club, organized by Sommer and William Zorach to promote avant-garde art. In 1917, he developed a shorthand of abstractions of various shapes and moods, and he also began painting small houses that appeared to be haunted.
Burchfield served in World War I from 1918 to 1919, and served as sergeant in the Camouflage Corps, camouflaging artillery pieces. In 1921, he moved to Buffalo, New York, where until 1929, he worked as a wallpaper designer for the M.H. Birge and Sons Wallpaper Company. From that time, living the remainder of his life in Buffalo, he devoted himself full time to fine-art painting that ranged from rather sentimental depictions to abstraction in the 1960s.
In the 1920s, Burchfield moved away from what he perceived as an overactive imagination and did studies of architecture of Midwestern streets. This subject matter of the realities of the man-made world was influenced by his reading of Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life by Sherwood Anderson, and playing off those themes he reflected a debunking of the heartland sentimentality by so-called sophisticated, more worldly critics. Then in 1943, he returned to his earlier style which he explained was a "necessary diversion" from the aftermath of World War II.
Once more Burchfield began to explore the landscape of his youth, and, using a less realistic style, became almost mystical in his expressions of nature including seasonal changes, and forest sounds, which he depicted with quivering brushstrokes. "His last paintings are filled with chimerical creatures — butterflies and dragonflies from another world." (Baigell 55)
The largest single collection of Burchfield’s work is at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center in Buffalo, New York, and includes his watercolors, prints, oil paintings and preliminary sketches for both paintings and wallpaper designs. In 1997, a major retrospective of his work was held at the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. and was organized by the Columbus Museum of Art.
Find original Charles Burchfield paintings and prints on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Gallery of the Masters)
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Long Island City, NY
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Scene on Windspear Road, Watercolor by Charles Burchfield 1935By Charles E. BurchfieldLocated in Long Island City, NYA watercolor painting by Charles Burchfield from 1935. An impressionist landscape of green foliage and a grassy hill in soft earth tones. Signed and dated in the lower right, beautif...Category
1930s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
- Farm Lane by Ben BennBy Ben BennLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Ben Benn, Russian/American (1884 - 1983) Title: Farm Lane Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed l.r. Size: 18.5 x 12 in. (46.99 x 30.48 cm) Frame Size: 25 x 18 inches Benn Ben...Category
1920s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsWatercolor
- On the Steps of Santa Prisca, Taxco MexicoBy Franklin Moss HamiltonLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Frank Moss Hamilton, American (1930 - 1999) Title: On the Steps of Santa Prisca, Taxco Mexico Year: circa 1960 Medium: Gouache On Paper, signed l.r. Size: 23.5 x 35.5 in. (59...Category
1960s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsGouache
- The "Cannonball", Locomotive Watercolor by Reginald MarshBy Reginald MarshLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Reginald Marsh, American (1898 - 1954) Title: The "Cannonball" Year: 1936 Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed, titled, and dated l.r. Size: 16.5 in. x 22.5 in. (41.91 cm x 57...Category
1930s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsWatercolor
$7,600 Sale Price20% Off - Acapulco Beach SceneBy Dong KingmanLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Dong Moy Chu Kingman, Chinese/American (1911 - 2000) Title: Acapulco Beach Scene I Year: 1968 Medium: Watercolor, signed and dated l.r. Size: 10.5 x 18 on 13.5 x 20.5 inches ...Category
1960s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsWatercolor
- The Wildwood, New York Harbor painting circa 1940By Margaretha E. AlbersLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Margaretha E. Albers, American (1881 - 1977) Title: The Wildwood Year: circa 1940 Medium: Oil on Board, signed Size: 12 in. x 16 in. (30.48 cm x 40.64 cm)Category
1940s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
$2,240 Sale Price20% Off
- Scene on Windspear Road, Watercolor by Charles Burchfield 1935By Charles E. BurchfieldLocated in Long Island City, NYA watercolor painting by Charles Burchfield from 1935. An impressionist landscape of green foliage and a grassy hill in soft earth tones. Signed and dated in the lower right, beautif...Category
1930s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
- Untitled (Trees)By Charles E. BurchfieldLocated in Buffalo, NYAn original watercolor on paper by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1916. This work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been authenticated by the Bur...Category
1910s American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
- Fires of Spring in Big WoodsBy Charles E. BurchfieldLocated in New York, NYEstate stamp lower rightCategory
20th Century American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsWatercolor, Pencil
- Dark Sky StudyBy Charles E. BurchfieldLocated in Buffalo, NYAn original graphite drawing by American modernist Charles Burchfield. This drawing has been authenticated by the Burchfield Penney Art Center.Category
1910s American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Graphite
- Strong Tree TrunkBy Charles E. BurchfieldLocated in Buffalo, NYAn original graphite on paper drawing by Charles E. Burchfield. This work will come with a COA and appraisal. This work is one of several studies created in preperation for Charles...Category
1960s American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGraphite, Paper
- Forest InteriorBy Frank BensonLocated in New York, NYSigned and dated lower left: F W. Benson / ‘22Category
19th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
- Hauling Nets, GloucesterBy Edward Henry PotthastLocated in New York, NYSigned lower left: E. PotthastCategory
20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil
- Winter Homes Creek Side, American Impressionist Winter Snow LandscapeBy Albert Van Nesse GreeneLocated in Doylestown, PA"Winter Home Creek Side" is a snowy winter landscape by American Impressionist painter Albert Van Nesse Greene. The painting is an 8.75" x 11.25" watercolor and gouache on paper, mat...Category
Early 20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsWatercolor, Archival Paper, Gouache
$2,560 Sale Price20% Off - Blooming Flower Pots, Watercolor and Gouache over Pencil on White Paper, FramedLocated in Houston, TXBlooming Flower Pots is a Watercolor and Gouache over Pencil on White Paper .It is framed and ready to be shipped. One artists described Santoli's paintings as "Now that is a world ...Category
2010s American Impressionist Still-life Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
- "Park Street Church, Boston," John Whorf Impressionist Watercolor WPA CityscapeBy John WhorfLocated in Larchmont, NYJohn Whorf (1903 - 1959) Park Street Church, Boston, circa 1930-45 Watercolor on paper 21 x 15 inches Signed lower right Housed in its original frame Provenance: Milch Gallery, New ...Category
1930s American Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
- "Train Station," Max Kuehne, Industrial City Scene, American ImpressionismBy Max KuehneLocated in Larchmont, NYMax Kuehne (1880 - 1968) Train Station, circa 1910 Watercolor on paper 8 1/4 x 10 1/4 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Private Collection, Illinois Max Kuehne was born in Hal...Category
1910s American Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
$2,800 Sale Price20% Off
Recently Viewed
View MoreThe 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Trusted Global Delivery