Fires of Spring in Big Woods
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Estate stamp lower right
Category
20th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
Charles E. Burchfield Art
American
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)
to
5
3
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
10
3
1
1
1
8
1
6
3
1
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
8
6
6
4
1
10
11,584
2,879
2,492
1,587
6
10
Artist: Charles E. Burchfield
Untitled (Trees)
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An 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 Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Alley Light, 1915
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Charles Burchfield adds his signature mysticism to his watercolor rendering of a street corner at night in his work entitled, “Alley Light.”
Category
Early 20th Century Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Board, Pencil
Rare Charles Burchfield Drawing Book plate Rare Black and White Museum Framed
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original rare bookplate drawing by Charles Burchfield featuring his most famous motifs of sunflowers.
Category
1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Archival Ink
Charles E. BurchfieldCharles Burchfield Preparatory Sketch, Early 20th Century, Early 20th Century
$1,500
Charles Burchfield Preparatory Sketch, Early 20th Century
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Charles Burchfield (1893-1967) Untitled (Preparatory Drawing for Skyscape), Early 20th Century Pencil on paper 12 1/4 x 18 3/4 in. Inscribed: blue / white / blue / RV Born in Ashtab...
Category
Early 20th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Before the Storm
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An 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 Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Blizzard in Woods Graphite Drawing, American Modern, Circa 1945-1963
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Blizzard in Woods Graphite on paper, c. 1945-1963 Unsigned Provenance: Sid Deutsch Gallery, New York Annotated with notes for completing the drawing. Deutsch Gallery has handled Bur...
Category
1940s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Graphite
Old Tree and September Wind Clouds, Conté on Paper, 1961, Signed
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Old Tree and September Wind Clouds, 1961, by Charles Burchfield (1893-1967) Conte crayon on paper 13 ½ x 19 ½ inches unframed (34.29 x 49.53 cm) 19 ¾ x 25 ½ inches framed (50.165 x 6...
Category
1960s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Conté
Village Scene, Crickets in November, New Albany, Ohio
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Missouri, MO
Village Scene, Crickets in November, New Albany, Ohio, 1919 By Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967) Signed and Dated Bottom Right Without Frame: 17.5" x 17.5" With Frame: 29" x 29" Bor...
Category
Early 20th Century Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Charles E. BurchfieldStudy for Skunk Cabbage, Watercolor Painting by Charles Burchfield 1931, 1931
Price Upon Request
Study for Skunk Cabbage, Watercolor Painting by Charles Burchfield 1931
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Long Island City, NY
A watercolor painting by Charles Burchfield from 1931. A still life botanical painting of a skunk cabbage in natural setting. Signed and dated in lower right, beautifully matted and framed in gold ornate frame. The painting has an excellent provenance through top New York Galleries including DC Moore...
Category
1930s American Impressionist Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Related Items
Edwin GeorgiSaturday Evening Post Illustration. “ The Devil’s Stronghold” Original Magazine, 1960
$6,800
H 15.5 in W 14.5 in D 16 in
Saturday Evening Post Illustration. “ The Devil’s Stronghold” Original Magazine
By Edwin Georgi
Located in Miami, FL
The work is mostly black and white to indicate that this is a night scene. On closer inspection, you will see areas of magenta and ivory throughout The publisher's label on verso ide...
Category
1960s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
India Ink, Gouache, Pencil, Illustration Board
Catherine HartMy 80's Heart "Token 7" 2019, gouache, acrylic, graphite, panel, blue, orange, 2019
$120
H 5.5 in W 5 in D 1 in
My 80's Heart "Token 7" 2019, gouache, acrylic, graphite, panel, blue, orange
By Catherine Hart
Located in Jersey City, NJ
My 80's Heart "Token 7" 2019, gouache, acrylic, graphite, panel, blue, wood, orange
Category
2010s Contemporary Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Acrylic, Gouache, Panel, Wood Panel, Illustration Board, Graphite
David FredenthalNYC Watercolor Drawing American Modern 20th Century Modernism Mid-Century WPA, c. 1948
$6,000
H 11 in W 14 in
NYC Watercolor Drawing American Modern 20th Century Modernism Mid-Century WPA
By David Fredenthal
Located in New York, NY
NYC Watercolor Drawing American Modern 20th Century Modernism Mid-Century WPA. David Fredenthal (1914-1958) "View of New York from New Jersey,"7 x 10 inches. Watercolor on Paper, c. 1948. Signed lower right. David Fredenthal (1914 - 1958) was one ot America's most respected watercolor artists. He was famous for his bold, intensely vigorous and complex paintings and drawings that expressed his deep feeling for excitement with life and living. He was a draftsman with seemingly a special gift for catching anything, physically and emotionally on the spot, and he never went anywhere without three or four loaded pens and a sketchbook in his pocket. As part of the WPA project he executed a number of murals including the Sports Pavilion on the Heinz Building of the New York World's Fair 1939. Some of his fresco and mural techniques were inspired by his friendship with Diego Rivera who had admired and encouraged him in the early 1930's. After he won a traveling scholarship to Europe from The Museum of Modern Art at age 19, he was the recipient of two Guggenheim grants in Painting. He had his first solo exhibition at the Downtown Gallery in New York in 1937 at age 23, and many others after that including the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1947. Because of Fredenthal's prodigious drawing gifts, he was chosen by Erskine Caldwell to illustrate his novel "Tobacco Road...
Category
1940s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Stuart Davis"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art, 1938
$125,000
H 18.5 in W 22 in D 1 in
"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art
By Stuart Davis
Located in New York, NY
"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art Stuart Davis (American, 1892-1964) "Street Signs" Modernist gouache and traces of pencil on paper in the proto-pop art style Davis is celebrated for, 1938, signed to lower right, framed. Image: 11 1/4 x 15 1/4 inches. Frame by Bark: 18 1/2 x 22 inches. LITERATURE: A, Boyajian, M. Rutkowski, Stuart Davis, A Catalogue Raisonne, Vol. 2, New Haven, Connecticut, 2007, vol. II, p. 632, no. 1232, illustrated. EXHIBITIONS: ACA Galleries, New York American Artists' Congress: Group Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, Dec. 3-16, 1939 (SDAB I, 12/3/39, p. 129). Outlines Gallery, Pittsburgh, Stuart Davis, Mar. 3-16, 1946. Coleman Art Gallery, Philadelphia, 5 Prodigal Sons: Former Philadelphia Artists: Ralston Crawford, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Julian Levi, Charles Sheeler, Oct 4 - 30, 1947 (pamphlet), no. 12. PROVENANCE: The artist; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bowles, New York, Apr. 3, 1956; thence by descent, Private Collection, New York. NOTES: According to the Catalogue Raissonne, "the title 'Street Signs' is recorded in the artist's account books...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Gouache, Pencil
Francis ChapinA Fine, Expressive 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Seated Male Nude Model, circa 1930
$285
H 22 in W 16 in D 0.13 in
A Fine, Expressive 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Seated Male Nude Model
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fine, Expressive 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Seated Male Nude Model by Famed Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A wonderful, early example of Chapin's figu...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
Chapel and houses along a lake, New England Landscape - American School, 19th C, 1905
$250
H 10 in W 8 in
Chapel and houses along a lake, New England Landscape - American School, 19th C
Located in Middletown, NY
Watercolor and pencil on buff wove watercolor paper, 10 x 8 inches (255 x 203 mm). In good condition with overall minor toning. Some watercolor paint splatters on the verso, contem...
Category
Early 1900s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
Francis ChapinA Fine, Stylish 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model, circa 1930
$245
H 16 in W 12 in D 0.13 in
A Fine, Stylish 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fine, Stylish 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Famed Chicago Artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A wonderful, early example of Chapin's figura...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Francis ChapinA Fine, Stylish 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model, circa 1930
$245
H 16 in W 12 in D 0.13 in
A Fine, Stylish 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fine, Stylish 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model (Back) by Famed Chicago Artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A wonderful, early example of Chapin's...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Adolf Arthur Dehn“Lake Atitlan, Guatemala”, Circa 1955
$1,760Sale Price|20% Off
H 20 in W 28 in D 1 in
“Lake Atitlan, Guatemala”
By Adolf Arthur Dehn
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor and gouache on archival paper artwork of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Signed by the artist Adolf Arthur Dehn lower left. Condition is excellent. Circa 1955. The ...
Category
1950s Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Gouache
Harold HaydonA Delightful, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Ink Drawing of a Resting Cat, 1950
$135
H 14 in W 18 in D 0.13 in
A Delightful, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Ink Drawing of a Resting Cat
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A Delightful, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Ink Drawing of a Resting Cat by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Artwork size: 9 1/4” x 11 1/2” (Sheet), unframed, mat...
Category
1950s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
Rita Duis (Astley-Bell)Delightful 1950s Cubist Harbor Scene by Woman Artist Rita Duis (Astley-Bell), circa 1955
$385
H 14 in W 18 in D 0.13 in
Delightful 1950s Cubist Harbor Scene by Woman Artist Rita Duis (Astley-Bell)
Located in Chicago, IL
A Mid-Century Modern, 1950s Cubist watercolor of a brightly-colored dock scene by Chicago and New York artist Rita Duis (Astley-Bell). Signed "Duis", lower left. Artwork size: 8 1/...
Category
1950s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
Earl Oliver HurstHandsome Couple in Sailboat - Collier's Magazine Illustration, 1941
$16,000
H 18 in W 24 in
Handsome Couple in Sailboat - Collier's Magazine Illustration
By Earl Oliver Hurst
Located in Miami, FL
Collier's Magazine Illustration Signed lower left Watercolor on board From the Estate of Charles Martignette. Work is framed in a period wood frame Framed under glass Framed to an...
Category
1940s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Watercolor, Board
Previously Available Items
Charles E. BurchfieldSpuyten Duyvel, New York Watercolor, Impressionist, Early 20th Century, 1907
Sold
H 4.25 in W 8 in
Spuyten Duyvel, New York Watercolor, Impressionist, Early 20th Century
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Fredericksburg, VA
Charles E. Burchfield’s Spuyten Duyvel, New York, signed and dated June 16, 1907, is a delicate and atmospheric watercolor that captures the quiet, pastoral character of the landscap...
Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Charles E. Burchfield"Drawing Study" Charles Burchfield, American Modernism Design
Sold
H 17.25 in W 21.25 in
"Drawing Study" Charles Burchfield, American Modernism Design
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Charles Burchfield Drawing Study Graphite on paper 5 1/2 x 8 inches Charles Ephraim Burchfield (1893–1967) was an American painter, best known for his watercolor landscapes. Burchfi...
Category
Early 20th Century Abstract Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Study of Corn with Nicotaina
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Study of Corn with Nicotaina Signed with the artist's monogram and dated lower left Crayon on paper laid down on support paper by the artist Inscribed with title, date and dimensions...
Category
1960s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Graphite
Charles E. BurchfieldScene on Windspear Road, Watercolor by Charles Burchfield 1935, 1935
Sold
H 31 in W 40 in
Scene on Windspear Road, Watercolor by Charles Burchfield 1935
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Long Island City, NY
A 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 Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Charles E. BurchfieldOriginal Rare Charles Burchfield Drawing Buildings Ohio 1919, 1919
Sold
H 18 in W 21 in
Original Rare Charles Burchfield Drawing Buildings Ohio 1919
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
Wonderful cityscape drawing by well listed artist Charles Burchfield. This work is a plein aire piece he completed in 1919, most likely in Ohio. Piece is accompanied with COA and va...
Category
1910s Realist Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Graphite, Archival Paper
Barren Trees
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated lower left: Chas Burchfield / 1914
Category
20th Century Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Untitled (Rain Study)
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite on paper drawing by American modern master Charles Burchfield created in 1915.
Category
1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Graphite
Through the Window
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite on paper drawing by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1914. This work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been authenticated by t...
Category
1910s Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Graphite
Portrait of a Horse
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite on paper drawing by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1917. This extremely rare work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been aut...
Category
1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Graphite
Color Study for Clouds
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite on paper drawing by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1915. This work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been authenticated by t...
Category
1910s Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Graphite
The Birches
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original piece of Birge wallpaper designed and printed by Charles Burchfield when he worked there. This piece titled The Birches was created in 1916.
Category
1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Dye Transfer
Doodle: ID 4486
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Abstraction Framed with museum quality rag board mat and black frame. The drawing is accompanied by a copy of a letter dated August 20, 1996, from Nancy Weekly, Charles Cary Lunse...
Category
20th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Charles E. Burchfield art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Charles E. Burchfield art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Charles E. Burchfield in paper, paint, watercolor and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Charles E. Burchfield art, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Gordon Grant, William Zorach, and Jan Matulka. Charles E. Burchfield art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,500 and tops out at $525,000, while the average work can sell for $45,000.
Artists Similar to Charles E. Burchfield
Questions About Charles E. Burchfield Art
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Charles Ephraim Burchfield is a watercolor artist best known for romantic and sometimes fantastic depictions of nature. His unique style of watercolor found him standing at an easel and applying paint with a dry brush technique, reworking the surface during his process or much later. His body of work is divided into three periods including figuration, houses and towns, and abstractions. Shop a selection of Burchfield pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.