Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Burchfield painted this scene from one of the upstairs windows of his family’s home in Salem, Ohio. He cleverly divided his composition in two. The upper section depicts wind-formed channels of clouds that would be categorized as “alto cumulus mackerel,” named after the distinctive, vertical zigzag stripes on the fish’s back. Burchfield contrasted the quivering, irregular cloud patterns outlined in a pale sky with brilliant primary colors and simplified geometry of neighborhood homes nestled among trees.