Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

As he planned to enlarge paintings, Burchfield created “cartoons” in full scale to strategize changes that would fulfill his more complex vision of the subject. Once the new dimensions were established, he remounted the first painting on a larger board and added paper around it. Then he overlapped paint layers to make the composition cohesive. The Sphinx and the Milky Way is one of his most mesmerizing and beloved composite paintings.