Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), The Sphinx and the Milky Way, 1946; opaque and transparent watercolor, chalk, and crayon on wove watercolor paper, 52 5/8 x 44 3/4 inches; Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Museum of Art, Utica, New York, Museum Purchase, 48.45
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, November 6, 1947
Sunday, Nov 6, 2022
...A brief excursion into a ravine, then start for home. On the Trevett Rd, up on the hill, stop by a woods & go in. Deep twilight—the majestic gloom was at once, both awe-inspiring & frightening. All at once I felt that I was the most lonely person on earth, and it seemed to me I could not endure the solitude; and yet it was so over-powering I could not leave it. I was, as it were, a prisoner who loved and hated his isolation. A wood-pecker busily concerned about finding his food, tapping on an accent beech. Beyond the woods a farmer calling his cows, in a strange sing-sing high pitched voice, somehow an unpleasant sound, worn of necessity & not love of his life.
Finally, I tore myself away and continued homeward. I arrived just as B & A were finishing supper. B told me Joe Fraser had sent a telegram “Congratulations. Your picture “The Sphinx & Milky Way awarded the Dawson Medal”—B thought my sketch rather special.
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, November 6, 1947