Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Dec. 4 –
Art sick with grippe.
[I forgot to mention in my accounts of the Ohio trip, that Ray Pierce, the undertaker, wants to buy one of my pictures to hang in his “Funeral Home” – He brought the subject up on the first evening while we were sitting together on a davenport – He said “I am wondering if you could paint some sort of picture for the space above a davenport that would be appropriately calm and peaceful” – So much joking had been going on (Walt was on the other side of me, and he is perpetually “kidding”) about me being an artist that I thought he too was merely making conversation. Besides I felt he would have no idea of the prices I get (modest as they are actually, they usually seem incredibly high to the uninitiated). So I turned his [illegible] aside. He brought it up once more during the course of the evening, but again I gave him a noncommittal reply. The next day, after the funeral, he again approached me, and I realized he was in earnest – so I apologized for my diffidence of the day before, and gave him the scale of prices according to size. He thought something about 800 to $1000 and we left it, that I was to submit photographs. He was content, he said, to leave it up to Rehn and I.] –
Dec. 6 –
A check from Living American Art, for $304.49 – royalties, just after I had written to Frank for money.
B & I shopping in P.M.
Evening – call from M. A. that she has to go back to Bristol. It is distressing because she had fallen in love so, with Winston-Salem.
Dec. 7 – Buy tree at Bailey market –
B& I in shopping all day, completing most of our purchase needs