Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Poplar Trees, January 1916; watercolor and graphite on paper, 20 x 13 3/4 inches; Burchfield Penney Art Center, Gift in honor and in memory of John I. H. Baur, friend of Charles E. Burchfield and friend of Charles Rand Penney, 2000
This morning was a wonderful morning. How I longed to take a trip to the woods! When it became light, I looked out I saw that everything, trees, bushes posts and wires were coated white with hoarfrost, that rendered the scene weird and beautiful, with the blue sky overhead yellowing in the east. As I went out to go to work, I examined more closely the frost on the porch posts. Little fern like shoots jutted out everywhere with many smaller star-like formations, woven into all sorts of designs. The frost of the tree branches was finer and fuzz like. Trees thus coated were beautiful. The yellow sun – just rising lit up everything. A common place would had been transformed into a fairyland. Down on Depot St I noticed how wonderful, an elm, naturally beautiful looked. Every bending drooping branch was whitened with frost while the larger limbs, and trunk were black. A row of poplars near here two was beautiful.
Charles Burchfield, February 13, 1912