Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Wet Snow and Ice, 1947-55; Transparent and opaque watercolor on paper, 37 7/8 × 30 inches; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Gift of Vincent B. Murphy, Jr., 95.89
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, December 28, 1959-January 2, 1960
Saturday, Jan 2, 2016
The Great Ice-storm – the “worst” (as the papers put it) in 30 years. Altho calamitous in a material way—thousands of homes without power (ours was off about 36 hours) —in a visual sense, a phenomenon of incredible and varied beauty; day after day revealing new startlingly beautiful effects – Never before have we seen such sights – Impossible to describe— On Wednesday night we had to stay at Richters overnight, which turned out to be fun for all of us. In the morning Bertha had to wake me at 8:00 to tell me our power was on again - & Mel Schmidt was waiting to turn on the furnaces. The children all came rushing in to greet me with kisses— The fact that I was unwashed, unshaven, & uncombed made not the slightest difference to them.
Charles E. Burchfield, December 28, 1959-January 2, 1960