Charles Burchfield

Charles Burchfield (1893-1967)

One of the few widely acknowledged 20th century masters of watercolor, Burchfield is known for his animated and highly personal depictions of nature and small-town streetscapes. He grew up in a quiet Midwestern town, and his early works exude a childlike sense of fantasy, where houses and trees seem almost to possess living spirits of their own. Eventually Burchfield began to work in a more realistic style, and was considered a painter of the American scene. He was given a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1930, and in 1936 received a commission from Fortune magazine to depict railroad yards, mines, coalfields, and other industrial subjects. Burchfield's intense bond with nature never diminished, however, and after about 1943 he began to reintroduce an expressive element into his work, recording with delight the seasonal changes he observed in the natural world. He took great pleasure in working outdoors, even when it required braving inclement conditions that deterred other artists.

Burchfield's trademark distorted forms and unconventional use of color derive from his early study of Asian art, and came into being independently, as he had not yet been exposed to examples of European modernism, unlike many of his peers. Highly unusual, too, was his use of the watercolor medium. He employed broad, flat brushes to apply heavy overlapping strokes, saturated with color -- a technique that resulted in works with a weightiness and opacity more characteristic of oil painting than traditional use of watercolor.