Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967) and J. J. Lankes (1884-1970), The Haymow, 1924; wood engraving, trial proof from an edition of 25, Overall: 7 x 10 1/16 in. (17.8 x 25.6 cm); Purchased with funds from the Margret L. Wendt Foundation, 1980
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, Vol. 36, December 27, 1924
Saturday, Dec 27, 2014
Reading in Moby-Dick on P. 586 – the description of the end of the day after a hard day of chasing whales. Must a man after all be a hard physical worker to enjoy the world? It would seem so — the only time that I ever felt anything like the magnificent feeling Melville gives expression to, was the evening of the day I rode from Cleveland to Salem on my wheel and sank down on a bank to rest at eventide — with the great blurred dapples above me. Another time too, was after working on the farm at Kenreich’s — a day of lading hay & riding to the barn on the rick. We men, who earn our daily bread by the sweat of our brains, do not live completely — only half of us lives, and therefore our impressions of things are apt to be circumspect and “nice.”
Charles E. Burchfield, December 27, 1924