Skip to main content

Charles E. Burchfield Art

American

Born in Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio, Charles Burchfield became known as a town-landscape painter of middle-western America, and his paintings, drawings and prints have had much influence on succeeding generations of artists. He has also been described as a social critic, naturalist, and transcendental visionary whose sensitivities infuse his artwork. Of his impact on American art, Matthew Baigell wrote: "Few American artists have ever responded with such passion to the landscape or have made it such a compelling repository as well as mirror of their intimate feelings."

In addition to his painting, Burchfield was a teacher at the Art Institute of Buffalo from 1949 to 1952 and at the University of Buffalo from 1950 to 1952.

Burchfield's career can be divided into three phases. The first is landscapes based on childhood memories and fantasies and ended about 1918; the second, from 1918 to 1943, is Social Realism, including “grimy streets and rundown buildings of the eastern Ohio area,” and the third phase is a return to subject matter of his childhood and the “investing them with a kind of ecstatic poetry.” (Biagell 54)

Throughout Burchfield's career, watercolor was his preferred medium. Knowledge of Oriental art influenced him to use simple forms.

Burchfield spent his youth in Salem, Ohio, where he developed a keen interest in art and nature and was intensely aware of woodland sounds and noises. In 1912, he decided to become a painter and enrolled in the Cleveland School of Art, where his most influential teacher was Henry Keller. Another major Ohio influence on his painting was William Sommer, leader of the modernist movement in the Cleveland area. He introduced Burchfield to experimental watercolor techniques and color theory, and Burchfield began attending sessions of the Kokoon Club, organized by Sommer and William Zorach to promote avant-garde art. In 1917, he developed a shorthand of abstractions of various shapes and moods, and he also began painting small houses that appeared to be haunted.

Burchfield served in World War I from 1918 to 1919, and served as sergeant in the Camouflage Corps, camouflaging artillery pieces. In 1921, he moved to Buffalo, New York, where until 1929, he worked as a wallpaper designer for the M.H. Birge and Sons Wallpaper Company. From that time, living the remainder of his life in Buffalo, he devoted himself full time to fine-art painting that ranged from rather sentimental depictions to abstraction in the 1960s.

In the 1920s, Burchfield moved away from what he perceived as an overactive imagination and did studies of architecture of Midwestern streets. This subject matter of the realities of the man-made world was influenced by his reading of Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life by Sherwood Anderson, and playing off those themes he reflected a debunking of the heartland sentimentality by so-called sophisticated, more worldly critics. Then in 1943, he returned to his earlier style which he explained was a "necessary diversion" from the aftermath of World War II.

Once more Burchfield began to explore the landscape of his youth, and, using a less realistic style, became almost mystical in his expressions of nature including seasonal changes, and forest sounds, which he depicted with quivering brushstrokes. "His last paintings are filled with chimerical creatures — butterflies and dragonflies from another world." (Baigell 55)

The largest single collection of Burchfield’s work is at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center in Buffalo, New York, and includes his watercolors, prints, oil paintings and preliminary sketches for both paintings and wallpaper designs. In 1997, a major retrospective of his work was held at the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. and was organized by the Columbus Museum of Art.

Find original Charles Burchfield paintings and prints on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Gallery of the Masters)

to
13
8
8
4
1
6
3
1
3
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
8
3
1
5
4
4
4
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
13
2
1
2
1
1
13
6,996
3,348
2,513
1,213
9
8
8
8
2
Artist: Charles E. Burchfield
Blizzard in Woods
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Blizzard in Woods Graphite on paper, c. 1945-1963 Unsigned Provenance: Sid Deutsch Gallery, New York Annotated with notes for completing the drawing. Deutsch Gallery has handled Bur...
Category

1940s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Graphite

Village Scene, early 20th century drawing on paper, Cleveland School Artist
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Beachwood, OH
Charles Burchfield (American, 1893-1967 Village Scene, 1921 Ink, pencil and watercolor on paper Signed and dated lower right 11 x 8.5 inches 17.75 x 14.75 inches, framed Born in Ash...
Category

1920s American Impressionist Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Pencil, Watercolor, Ink

"Drawing Study" Charles Burchfield, American Modernism Design
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Charles Burchfield Drawing Study Graphite on paper 5 1/2 x 8 inches Charles Ephraim Burchfield (1893–1967) was an American painter, best known for his watercolor landscapes. Burchfi...
Category

Early 20th Century Abstract Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Alley Light, 1915
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Charles Burchfield adds his signature mysticism to his watercolor rendering of a street corner at night in his work entitled, “Alley Light.”
Category

Early 20th Century Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Pencil, Board, Paper

Charles Burchfield Preparatory Sketch, Early 20th Century
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Larchmont, NY
Charles Burchfield (1893-1967) Untitled (Preparatory Drawing for Skyscape), Early 20th Century Pencil on paper 12 1/4 x 18 3/4 in. Inscribed: blue / white / blue / RV Born in Ashtab...
Category

Early 20th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Sunflower Study
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Estate stamp lower right: C-139
Category

Early 20th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Fires of Spring in Big Woods
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Estate stamp lower right
Category

20th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Pencil, Watercolor

Untitled (Trees)
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original watercolor on paper by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1916. This work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been authenticated by the Bur...
Category

1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Before the Storm
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original watercolor on paper by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1916. This work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been authenticated by the Bur...
Category

1910s Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Study of Corn with Nicotaina
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Study of Corn with Nicotaina Signed with the artist's monogram and dated lower left Crayon on paper laid down on support paper by the artist Inscribed with title, date and dimensions...
Category

1960s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Graphite

Village Scene, Crickets in November, New Albany, Ohio
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Missouri, MO
Village Scene, Crickets in November, New Albany, Ohio, 1919 By Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967) Signed and Dated Bottom Right Without Frame: 17.5" x 17.5" With Frame: 29" x 29" Bor...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Paper, Gouache

Scene on Windspear Road, Watercolor by Charles Burchfield 1935
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Long Island City, NY
A watercolor painting by Charles Burchfield from 1935. An impressionist landscape of green foliage and a grassy hill in soft earth tones. Signed and dated in the lower right, beautif...
Category

1930s Impressionist Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Study for Skunk Cabbage, Watercolor Painting by Charles Burchfield 1931
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Long Island City, NY
A watercolor painting by Charles Burchfield from 1931. A still life botanical painting of a skunk cabbage in natural setting. Signed and dated in lower right, beautifully matted and framed in gold ornate frame. The painting has an excellent provenance through top New York Galleries including DC Moore...
Category

1930s American Impressionist Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Related Items
Art deco mixed media on paper - Panther in a forest of bamboos by Gaston Suisse
Located in Carouge GE, GE
Panthère dans les bambous, 1926 Gouache, or et traits de crayon sur papier Signé et daté en bas à droite 15 x 15 cm (sujet) Panther in the bamboos, 1926 Gouache, pencil and gold on paper Signed and dated to the lower right Provenance Collection particulière, France - Private collection, France Bibliographie/Literature : Emmanuel Bréon "Gaston Suisse, splendeur du laque art déco", Somogy Editions d'art, Paris 2013, oeuvre décrite et reproduite page 104. (l’oeuvre décrite et reproduite est la lithographie tirée d'après l’oeuvre originale que nous présentons.) Nous présentons ici l'oeuvre originale à la gouache, or et crayon de la panthère noire. L’artiste en réalisa une gravure sur bois dont il tira lui-même une vingtaine d’épreuve. Ces épreuves ne furent pas commercialisées telles quelles, Gaston Suisse reprit chacune des épreuves en utilisant des lavis d’encre de Chine et des ors de différentes couleurs, afin d’obtenir des effets différents pour chaque épreuve, qui sont donc des œuvres originales uniques. We present here the original work in gouache, gold and pencil of the black panther. From this original, the artist made a wood engraving of which he made about twenty prints himself. These proofs were not marketed as they were, Gaston Suisse reworked each of the proofs using Indian ink washes and golds of different colors, in order to obtain different effects for each proof, which are thus unique original works. Born in 1896 in a family of artists, his father Georges was a close friend of Siegfried Bing and a great lover of Japanese art and a bibliophile. He passed his taste for art to his son whom he often took to draw at the Botanic Garden . Around 1910, Gaston Suisse, who hasn't entered yet the artistic school, met Paul Jouve, then 18 years his elder, who was already famous. In 1911, at the age of 17, he entered the National School of Decorative Art where he followed the teachings of Paul Renouard. Thanks to his knowledge and taste for the Japanese art, he chose lacquer painting as his specialty. His practice of this noble and demanding subject were so much appreciated that he was awarded with two gold medals in 1913 and 1914. Mobilized during the war , he joined the army and go in Salonika where he found his friend Jouve. In 1918, he finished his studies at the School of Applied Arts in order to perfect his training. He learned in particular the techniques of gilding and oxidation of metals. The first productions of Gaston Suisse, furniture and objects in lacquer with geometrical patterns, were an instant success and Suisse was appointed as member of Salon d'Automne in 1924, the very year of his first exhibition. Considered as an artist-decorator, his sincere and deep friendship with Jouve linked him in parallel with the groups of the animaliers of the Jardin des Plantes and became a close friend of Edouard-Marcel Sandoz. When travelling to Maghreb and Middle-East between 1923 and 1925, he produced numerous drawings representing antelopes, apes and fennec foxes...
Category

1920s Art Deco Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Gold

Untitled (Floral Still Life)
By Zama Vanessa Helder
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This work is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1940s. Untitled (Floral Still Life), ca. 1940s, watercolor on paper, signed lower left, 10 x 13 inches (i...
Category

1940s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

African American Woman artist Mailou Jones Cezannian Cote d'Azur cubist village
Located in Norwich, GB
If you are interested in African American Art and in Women in the Arts, I will certainly not need to introduce Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1988). Often associated with the Harlem Renaiss...
Category

Mid-19th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

Liber Mystia XLIII
By Henry Hablak
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Liber Mystia XLIII" is an original artwork by Henry Hablak made of gouache, ink, and colored pencil on paper measuring 16.25"h x 12.25"w framed and 14"h x 11"w unframed. Henry Habl...
Category

2010s Contemporary Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Ink, Paper, Gouache, Color Pencil

Pigs on a Trolley - Vintage Picture Book Two-Page Spread Illustration
By Irene Pattinson
Located in Soquel, CA
Pigs on a Trolley - Vintage Picture Book Two-Page Spread Illustration A two-page spread in India ink pen and watercolor by Irene Pattinson (Ameri...
Category

1950s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, India Ink, Watercolor, Pen

White Cat Watercolor
Located in Soquel, CA
Charming watercolor of a seated white cat with a rich green background color by California artist Elizabeth Bourdet (American, 1926-1977). Signed "Elizabeth ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

Fawn
By Henry Hablak
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Fawn" is an original ink, colored pencil, and gouache on paper artwork by Henry Hablak measuring 30"h x 22"w. Henry Hablak is a tattoo artist and illustrator based out of Philadel...
Category

2010s Contemporary Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Ink, Color Pencil, Gouache, Paper

Fawn
Fawn
H 30 in W 22 in
Still Life at a Table, Study in Yellow by Artist Harold Haydon
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1931 delightful watercolor still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ont...
Category

1930s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pen

Untitled (Study of Classical Drapery)
By Jan Matulka
Located in Chicago, IL
A graphite on paper, study of a classical drapery by artist Jan Matulka. The image is drawn on the back of a typewritten, folded sheet of stationery, from Dyer, Hudson & Co., New Yo...
Category

1930s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Colorado Mountain Winter Landscape Watercolor Painting, Blue, Orange, Purple
Located in Denver, CO
Colorado mountain landscape watercolor painting signed by artist Rita Derjue (1934-2020) depicts Cabins in the Snow in bright tones of blue, yellow, green and red/brown. Signed by the artist in the lower right corner. Presented in a custom frame with archival materials, outer dimensions measure 24 ⅛ x 31 ½ x 1 ¼ inches. Image sight size is 14 ½ x 21 ½ inches. About the Artist: Born Rhode Island, 1934 Artist, educator, mentor and community activist, Derjue is the daughter of European parents whose family members had previous connections with New York and New England. Her drawing talent as a youngster in Rhode Island caught the attention of family friend Johann Groen, a Dutch-born painter and photographer, who encouraged her to spend time touring and studying in Europe to further her art education. In 1956 she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Rhode Island School of Design that emphasized the fundamentals of drawing and design. Her most memorable teacher was Richard Hamilton, whose work was influenced by German Expressionist Max Beckmann and the jazz greats. Her studies from nature and Cubist compositions done at that time reflect her interest in early twentieth-century European modernist painting. She had the opportunity to experience it firsthand during a year of post-graduate work at the renowned Akademie den Bildenden Kunste in Munich, Germany, in 1956-57. She studied with Ernest Geitlinger (1895-1972) whom the Nazi government classified as a “degenerate” artist in the 1930s, preventing him from exhibiting in Germany. After World War II he was one of the co-founders of the Munich artists’ association, Neue Gruppe, in 1946 and played an important role in abstract painting. While studying with him in Munich she produced a number of canvases in a referential abstract style. She also became acquainted with the Blaue Reiter group that flourished in the early twentieth century and whose expressionism strongly influenced her color palette and painting style. She particularly admired the work of Blaue Reiter co-founder and Wassily Kandinsky’s long-time partner, Gabriele Münter, whose work she studied at the Lenbachhaus in Munich and at the Gabriele Münter Haus and the Schlossmuseum in Murnau south of Munich. Derjue’s immersion in German Expressionism imparted a bold, simplified style to her work. In 1958 with a friend from Munich she went to Mexico for a year, studying with artist Frank Gonzalez in his studio in San Angel, Mexico City, and with Canadian artist, Toni Onley, in San Miguel de Allende. Onley had recently won a scholarship to the Instituto Allende to study mural and fresco painting with David Siqueiros, one of the three greats of Mexican muralism. At the Instituto Onley began painting large black-and-white canvases in an abstract impressionistic style which he imparted to Derjue, who thereafter began exploring color and space in the dimensions of her own large compositions. With writer Gregory Strong, he subsequently published Onley’s Arctic and his autobiography, The Tony Onley Story. After returning to the United States, she worked as a graphic designer for Little, Brown and Company, publishers in Boston. She began dating her future husband, Carle Zimmerman, whom she met earlier in Europe and whom she married in 1960. Joining him at Cornell University where he was completing his Ph.D degree, she earned her Master of Arts degree at the same institution and participated in group shows at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum and the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in upstate New York. In 1963 Derjue and her husband relocated to Littleton, Colorado, where he spent his entire career, first as a research engineer and later as a departmental manager for the Marathon Oil...
Category

20th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

Brookdale, New Jersey
By Oscar Florianus Bluemner
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Brookdale, New Jersey Graphite on paper, 1922 Signed with the artist's initials l.l., and dated 1922 (see photo) Annotated "Brookdale" front and back of she...
Category

1920s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Graphite

Untitled (Still Life, Interior)
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A detailed ink on paper drawing of a still-life in an interior by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chi...
Category

1950s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Ink

Previously Available Items
Study of Corn with Nicotaina
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Study of Corn with Nicotaina Signed with the artist's monogram and dated lower left Crayon on paper laid down on support paper by the artist Inscribed with title, date and dimensions...
Category

1960s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Graphite

Original Rare Charles Burchfield Drawing Buildings Ohio 1919
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
Wonderful cityscape drawing by well listed artist Charles Burchfield. This work is a plein aire piece he completed in 1919, most likely in Ohio. Piece is accompanied with COA and va...
Category

1910s Realist Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Graphite, Archival Paper

Barren Trees
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated lower left: Chas Burchfield / 1914
Category

20th Century Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Untitled (Rain Study)
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite on paper drawing by American modern master Charles Burchfield created in 1915.
Category

1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Graphite

Through the Window
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite on paper drawing by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1914. This work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been authenticated by t...
Category

1910s Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Portrait of a Horse
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite on paper drawing by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1917. This extremely rare work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been aut...
Category

1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Color Study for Clouds
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite on paper drawing by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1915. This work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been authenticated by t...
Category

1910s Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Graphite

The Birches
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original piece of Birge wallpaper designed and printed by Charles Burchfield when he worked there. This piece titled The Birches was created in 1916.
Category

1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Dye Transfer

Doodle: ID 4486
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in New York, NY
Abstraction Framed with museum quality rag board mat and black frame. The drawing is accompanied by a copy of a letter dated August 20, 1996, from Nancy Weekly, Charles Cary Lunse...
Category

20th Century American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Modernist Wall Paper Pattern
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original sheet of wallpaper designed by Charles Burchfield and preserved by curators. This work is dye roller print on paper, created for Birge Wallpaper Company Circa 1921
Category

1920s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Dye Transfer

Modernist Wallpaper Pattern
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original 1920's framed sheet of wallpaper hand created by Charles Burchfield and preserved by curators.
Category

1920s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Dye Transfer

Study for "The Forest of Wild Thyme"
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original graphite drawing by Charles Burchfield which is a study for the work "The Forest of Wild Thyme". This work comes with a COA and appraisal and has been verified to be auth...
Category

1910s American Modern Charles E. Burchfield Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Charles E. Burchfield art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Charles E. Burchfield art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Charles E. Burchfield in paper, paint, watercolor and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Charles E. Burchfield art, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Gordon Grant, William Zorach, and Jan Matulka. Charles E. Burchfield art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,500 and tops out at $525,000, while the average work can sell for $45,000.

Artists Similar to Charles E. Burchfield

Questions About Charles E. Burchfield Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Charles Ephraim Burchfield is a watercolor artist best known for romantic and sometimes fantastic depictions of nature. His unique style of watercolor found him standing at an easel and applying paint with a dry brush technique, reworking the surface during his process or much later. His body of work is divided into three periods including figuration, houses and towns, and abstractions. Shop a selection of Burchfield pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.

Recently Viewed

View All