Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, July 31, 1916:

And so I have arrived at this point,

and have no more possessions

than the love of nature & life — 

the true poet needs no more.

Like Burchfield’s student work, Hazy July Noon seems inspired by Japanese prints. The artist’s masterful use of negative space; his bold instinct to render parts of the scene in subtle, monochromatic linear patterns; the “boundariless” manner in which sky and leaves seem to spill into one another—all exemplify the artist’s ability to harmonize elements of design in an expression of the harmony he sees in nature.

Content developed by Tullis Johnson, Brian Grunert and Kyle Morrisey for the exhibition Charles E. Burchfield: By Design

Charles Burchfield adapted this watercolor painting into one of his first wallpaper designs for the M. H. Birge & Sons Company in 1916, aptly called Sunflowers.—Nancy Weekly