Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Only ten paintings are listed as Burchfield’s output in 1927, while he was still working at the M. H. Birge & Sons Company designing wallpaper. He noted that this subject was found in “South Buffalo.” Here the sooty, man-made habitat, crisscrossed wires, railroad sign, and gloomy clouds overshadow the natural world, yet the overall dull coloration serves to amplify the pastel tones of foreground wildflowers—yellow goldenrod and blue-violet chicory. As elements of hope, the plants persist despite human desecration of the land surrounding them.