Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Gateway to September, 1945-1956; watercolor on joined paper, 42 1/2 x 56 inches; Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Gift of the Benwood Foundation.
Charles Burchfield, Journals, August 13, 1914
Wednesday, Aug 13, 2014
I can imagine no more miserable person than he who has attained his ideal.
Observe the vines. We have in our yard a hopvine which climbs a pole before it attains the top; it is fresh big & strong. Having come to the top of the “shoots” wander aimlessly about & finally fall down, climb the pole again & so continue until nipped by the frost. The top is stunted and I imagine the fruit is smaller than if the vine had been able to go on up. So it is with the morning-glories.
We should them climb a pole whose top, if it has any, is so high in the blue that we will never reach it, lest we like the vine become stunted at last.
Charles Burchfield, August 13, 1914