Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

In House and Tree by Arc Light, 1916, Burchfield rendered a trio of lighting effects: the cosmic shooting star in the sky, the brilliant arc light that cast deep shadows on the house façade and tree, and the suggestion of lamplight emanating from the house interior. 

Two years earlier, Burchfield recorded vivid, nostalgic descriptions about lighting in his journal:

The new stationary street electric lights are an improvement, but they have not the poetry of the old-fashioned arc light. I have memories of their creaking on windy winter nights—nights when the weather was hovering between thaw & cold—of the light dancing on the walls, or the wild tree shadows pacing restlessly back & forth on window curtains; or of summer’s night, of the rings on the ground, circling far out into the dim shadows like rings from a stone thrown in a pool of water, constantly running back & forth over the ground; of clouds of insects flying around; of momentary flashes of light on bats’ wings.”