Sultry Moon

Notes

LITERATURE C.E. Burchfield, Journals, vol. LIX, August 21, 1959, p. 105. C.E. Burchfield, Journals, vol. LIX, August 25, 1959, p. 106. Letter from Charles E. Burchfield to Dr. and Mrs. Theodor W. Braasch, September 13, 1959. M. Breuning, "Burchfield’s Recent Work," Arts Magazine, vol. XXXV, January 1961, p. 50. J.S. Trovato, Charles Burchfield Catalogue of Paintings in Public and Private Collections, Utica, New York, 1970, pp. 279-80, no. 1203, illustrated. G.G. Deák, Profiles of American Artists Represented by Kennedy Galleries, New York, 1981, p. 25, illustrated. J. Hall, "Works Reveal Ohioan’s Talent," The Columbus Dispatch, March 23, 2003, illustrated. EXHIBITED New York, Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries, Charles Burchfield, January 3-28, 1961, n.p., no. 6, cover illustration. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee Art Museum; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Art Center, The Life and Work of Charles Burchfield, 1893-1967, January 30-November 11, 1984. Columbus, Ohio, Riffe Center, The State of the Arts: A Celebration of Ohio's Rich Artistic Heritage, March 3-May 4, 2003. Columbus, Ohio, Keny Galleries, A Cultural Legacy: 200 Years of Ohio Art: 1775-1975, October 10-November 10, 2008. Columbus, Ohio, Keny Galleries, Charles Burchfield: An American Visionary, March 1-April 5, 2013, cover illustration. New York, Menconi + Schoelkopf, Charles E. Burchfield: Inexhaustible, February 22-April 2, 2021, pp. 52-54, 62, no. 22, illustrated. FURTHER DETAILS We would like to thank Nancy Weekly, Burchfield Scholar at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, for her assistance with cataloguing this lot. Conditions of sale Brought to you by Quincie Dixon Associate Specialist, Head of Sale Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this QDIXON@CHRISTIES.COM +1 212 636 2141 VIEW CONDITION REPORT LOT ESSAY Present lot illustrated (detail). I find myself being drawn almost inexorably into a dream world. Charles Burchfield Among the most celebrated American watercolorists of the twentieth century, Charles Burchfield whimsically captured the variable sensations of the natural world on paper. As the artist reflected in 1960, “I find myself being drawn almost inexorably into a dream world. It is not that I am trying to escape real life, but that the realm of fantasy offers the true solution of truly evaluating an experience.” (as quoted in Charles Burchfield: Fifty Years as a Painter, New York, 2010, p. 98) Sultry Moon lyrically carries the viewer into the artist’s dreamy appreciation for the natural wonders hidden within the American landscape. Charles E. Burchfield, Winter Moonlight, 1951. Wichita Art Museum, Kansas. Reproduced with permission of the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation. Burchfield’s love of nature began in his childhood as he walked through the woods near his home in Ohio and read essays by naturalists, travel journals by John James Audubon and stories by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Burchfield moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1921 and continued to seek inspiration from his natural surroundings throughout the rest of his career. Watercolor remained his primary medium and the vessel to express his ongoing fascination with the natural world. In his journal of August 25, 1959, the artist recounted his process of creating the present work: “Got to work on the Drought Moon Picture—put in the moon before lunch, then practically finished the picture in the afternoon. I was too tired to evaluate (plus the fact that always when a picture is just finished, I am looking for flaws instead of good points)— Bertha thought it was beautiful.” (C.E. Burchfield, Journals, vol. LIX, August 25, 1959, p. 106) He later expanded upon his conception of Sultry Moon in a letter to Dr. and Mrs. Theodor W. Braasch in September of 1959. He writes, “The ‘Glower’ in ‘Sultry Moon’ was intentional as I told you. The tree on the left was a spontaneous combustion; (all else was planned more or less… The crescent shape differs in meaning of course according to its position—[drawing of upturned crescent] (variation [double horned shape]) I feel is eerie or menacing—at best a pixie mischievousness)—[drawing of downward crescent] can express astonishment, wariness, foreboding, and also sadness, nostaligia, [sic] or worship of God…That much of my work is self-conscious—but how and when they are to be used is more or less spontaneous; unplanned, and intruding on their own power.” (Letter from Charles E. Burchfield to Dr. and Mrs. Theodor W. Braasch, September 13, 1959.) Letter from Charles E. Burchfield to Dr. & Mrs. Theodor W. Braasch, September 13, 1959, page 3. Burchfield Penney Art Center, Charles E. Burchfield Archives, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Theodor W. Braasch, 1977. Sultry Moon is a reflection of the artist’s profound thought and symbolic interpretation of nature and the subtle changes brought on by sunlight and moonlight. Through his careful consideration of coloration and form, Burchfield creates an eerie, yet meditative scene centered around the power and majesty of a glowing moon. Amplified by its striking scale and drenched in a nocturnal glow, Sultry Moon embodies Burchfield’s admiration for the natural world and dedication to depicting its many facets and seemingly never-ending wonders. READ MORE OF THE LOT ESSAY