Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Many beautiful and quaint houses—many of brick—The gothic with elaborate carvings very numerous. Route 20, (which cuts thru the end of the lake east of Hamilton which just beyond Hamilton, turns east and goes straight to Niagara Falls. The great cut thru stratified rock—Rather barren, flat country with no large trees—rather mean [CD] houses, with only a few gothic ones of interest, Sandwiches & coffee at Fort Hill— Niagara Falls about sun-down. Stop at new American Falls and also Horse Shoe. The latter for me are the most impressive—the sun lighting just the brink of the Falls, a beautiful fragment of rainbows, the color of the crater rim a whole gamut of infinite tones from rich yellow olive in the middle (where it was sunlit) to cool bluegreens [sic] close at hand in shadow. We were struck with the slowness of the water as it poured over (probably only apparently so). It seemed almost like a slow-motion movie. Great clouds of pure white mist. B said very aptly that the “boiling” water at the front of the falls was like maple sap boiling. By the Blvd. to Peace Bridge. Rich red golden light of the sun on willows. The blue herons- probably seven or eight— Home a little after nine. May 21—(Wed.) Warm, muggy, showers again, then clearing—Puttering around studio. P.M. B A & I to Buffalo. A thunderstorm—almost a cloud burst as we went to William St. Too rainy to shop. I tried without avail to get ultramarine at Coppins & Ulbrichs. Plastic wood at Mead’s—Catbird today.