The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

White Violets and Coal Mine

White Violets and Coal Mine

1918
(American, 1893–1967)
Sheet: 58.8 x 54 cm (23 1/8 x 21 1/4 in.)
Reproduced with permission from the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation
Catalogue raisonné: Straus 313; Trovato 442
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Most of the mines around Burchfield's hometown, Salem, Ohio, were out of use and abandoned even in his own time.

Description

Around 1918, Charles Burchfield began to explore and draw deserted mines around his hometown, abandoned after their resources were depleted. Many of these works were made just before he was drafted into World War I, a time characterized by intense anxiety and depression. He saw a connection between these emotions and the mines he visited, which he described as having “dark and gloomy depths . . . a luring mysteriousness.” Here, he portrayed the cave as a seemingly infinite space, contrasting its shadowy interior with white violets blooming from cracks in the rocky landscape.
  • 1930
    (Frank K.M. Rehn Gallery, NY, sold to Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    1930-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Maciejunes, Nannette V., and Michael D. Hall. The Paintings of Charles Burchfield: North by Midwest. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with the Columbus Museum of Art, 1997. Mentioned: 114, 220-221; Reproduced: 221
    Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Burchfield. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland School of Art, 1941. Mentioned: no. 23; Reproduced on cover
    Trovato, Joseph S. Charles Burchfield: Catalogue of Paintings in Public and Private Collections. Utica: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1970. Mentioned: p. 77, no. 442; Reproduced: p. 76
    Townsend, J. Benjamin, ed. Charles Burchfield's Journals: The Poetry of Place. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993. Mentioned: p. 339, 684 n.20; Reproduced: p. 338
    Bauer, John I. H. Charles Burchfield. Exh. Cat. New York: Whitney Museum, 1956. Mentioned: no. 30; Reproduced: plate 15
    Maciejunes, Nannette V. The Early Works of Charles E. Burchfield, 1915-1921. Exh. Cat. Columbus: Columbus Museum of Art, 1987. Mentioned: p. 13, no. 56; Reproduced: p. 54
    Charles Burchfield. New York: American Artists Group, 1945.
    Burchfield, Louise. "A Watercolor by Charles Burchfield." Cleveland Museum of Art Bulletin (April 1938): 66, 71. Mentioned: p. 66; Reproduced: p. 71
    O'Connor, John, Jr. "Charles Burchfield: Exhibition of His Paintings at the Carnegie Institute." Carnegie Magazine 11 (March 1938): 309-312.
    Trovato, Joseph S. The Nature of Charles Burchfield: A Memorial Exhibition, 1893–1967, Paints, Drawings, Prints. Exh. Cat. Utica, NY: Museum of Art, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1970. Mentioned: no. 116
    Curry, Larry. Eight American Masters of Watercolor: Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Maurice B. Prendergast, John Marin, Arthur G. Dove, Charles Demuth, Charles E. Burchfield, Andrew Wyeth. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1968. Mentioned: p. 15, no. 89
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of an Exhibition of American Painting from 1860 Until Today at the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: [Printed by the Artcraft Printing Co.], 1937. Mentioned: cat. no. 23, p. 15, Reproduced: pl. XXX
    Foshay, Ella M. Reflections of Nature: Flowers in American Art. New York: Knopf, in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1984. Mentioned: p. 79; Reproduced: p. 82, fig. 61
    Baur, John I. H. The Inlander: Life and Work of Charles Burchfield 1893-1967. Newark, Del: University of Delaware Press, 1984. Mentioned: 85-86, 89
    | Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art: Picture Book No. 4 . [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1952. Reproduced: p. 18 archive.org
  • Charles Burchfield: The Ohio Landscapes, 1915–1920. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 22, 2018-May 5, 2019).
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 228): March 25, 2009 - October 19, 2009.
    Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 28-July 18, 2004).
    The Paintings of Charles Burchfield: North by Midwest. Columbus Museum of Art (March 25-May 19, 1997); Burchfield Penney Art Center (June 15-August 17, 1997); National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC (September 1, 1997-January 25, 1998).
    The Early Works of Charles E. Burchfield 1915-1921. Columbus Museum of Art (December 13, 1987-February 7, 1988); Laguna Art Museum (March 5, 1998-April 24, 1988); Burchfield Penney Art Center (May 14-July 3, 1998).
    The Nature of Charles Burchfield: A Memorial Exhibition, 1893–1967, Paints, Drawings, Prints. Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY (organizer) (April 3-June 14, 1970).
    Eight American Masters of Watercolor: Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Maurice B. Prendergast, John Marin, Arthur G. Dove, Charles Demuth, Charles E. Burchfield, Andrew Wyeth. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (April 23-June 16, 1968); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum (June 28-August 18, 1968); Seattle Art Museum (September 5-October 13, 1968).
    Paintings by Charles Burchfield.. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Museum of American Art.
    Charles Burchfield Retrospective Exhibition. Whitney Museum of American Art (January 11-February 26, 1956); The Baltimore Museum of Art (March 14-April 22, 1956); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (May 9-June 17, 1956); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (July 11-August 19, 1956); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (September 5-October 14, 1956); The Phillips Collection (November 4-December 11, 1956); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 28, 1956-February 10, 1957).
    The Seasons as Represented in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 4-September 9, 1954).
    Charles Burchfield: A Retrospective Exhibition of Watercolors and Oils 1916-1943. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (organizer); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 4-28, 1945).
    The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
    Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Burchfield. The Cleveland School of Art.
    Expressionism and Related Movements. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 26-February 28, 1939).
    An Exhibition of Water Colors and Oils by Charles Burchfield.. Carnegie Institute.
    Exhibition of American Painting from 1860 Until Today. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-October 4, 1937).
    Early Water Colors of Charles Burchfield. Phillips Memorial Gallery (November 5, 1933 - February 15, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=White Violets and Coal Mine|url=false|author=Charles Burchfield|year=1918|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1937.3202