Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Glory to God, 1949; watercolor on paper, 47 X 27 1/2 inches; Image from the Burchfield Penney Art Center Archives.
Difficulty in getting to sleep last night –
For a while I watched the steady fall of snow as it was revealed by the street-light; soon the porch roof and all grassy places were white –
Then I went to sleep, but woke up at three A.M., and began to worry about the triptych and the problems it presented. To get my mind off of it, I began to go over in my mind what I might say when I gave a talk to the Print Club in Cleveland next November – and decided it might be good to tell some of the humorous anecdotes experienced while out sketching, and amused myself a lot that way – It was very quiet outside, the snow still falling. Presently the silence was broken briefly by that mysterious low-toned whistle, announcing 4:00 o’clock, that is such an exact copy of one I heard in my child-hood in Salem, Ohio. It has a friendly sound.
Up late – Concert from Toronto – Mendelssohn’s Violin, Concert and Schubert’s Third Symphony, the latter full of charm and youthful exuberance.
Packages in the mail – Two prints from the Phila Print Club a ‘condensed Books’ from the Reader’s Digest, and a present from Earl & Bob a nice sport-shirt.
A.M. – “Cleaning up” the studio & listing all the pictures we chose yesterday, [although] I feel now that I will send no water-colors.
P.M. Made tentative sketches for the 2 side panels in the Concordia [Triptych] – with Bertha’s help, we decided on 9” additions.
This will bring the completed picture, including the dimensional strips, to exactly 4 x 4 feet. – a good shape inasmuch as the wall where it is to be hung is 12 x 10. Bertha also made a good criticism of the faulty leaning of one tree top, - as this is a formal picture, the least deviation is disturbing.
Evening – To Seneca to see “The Naked Spur”, about as good a melodrama as we have seen for some time, tense, and full of incidents, set in gorgeous Rocky Mountain scenery. (Jimmy Stewart, Robert Ryan et al). (In regard to the setting I could not help at times but feel a sort of discrepancy, or rather attention-diverting element, between the sordid human conflicts and the wild natural beauty – or was this an advantage? – But certainly there was harmony between the last fight on the brim of the cliff, and the raging river below.)
Charles E. Burchfield, April 18, 1953