1952-58
watercolor and charcoal on paper laid down on board
35 x 50 inches
Image from the Burchfield Penney Art Center Archives.
For the exhibition, Charles Burchfield: Recent Paintings, held in Upton Hall Gallery in Buffalo, New York at the State University College from April 24 through May 19, 1963, the artist provided this text about the work:
DUSTY ROAD IN JULY
When I was a boy there were no paved country roads, and in summer they were usually dusty, pale ochre-white ribbons running between fields and woods and over hills. When they disappeared over a distant hill, it seemed as if they were going out into infinite space, that they had no end. On a still hot July day this added a feeling of mystery to them, and it was enchanting to walk on them.
The hot dust felt good to our bare feet too.
This is what I have tried to express in this painting. (The actual spot was on the Genesee Road, west of Pike, N.Y.)