The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 23, 2026

New Moon

November 1917

Charles Burchfield

(American, 1893–1967)
America
Watercolor and opaque watercolor with graphite on wove paper
Sheet: 45.9 x 55.1 cm (18 1/16 x 21 11/16 in.)
Anonymous gift in memory of Henry G. Keller 1954.569
Reproduced with permission from the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation
Catalogue raisonné: Straus 278; Trovato 398
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The curved forms in the windows and roof of the building correspond with a system of symbols that Burchfield developed in 1917 to express universal moods and emotions.

Description

This drawing represents a house in Burchfield's hometown, Salem, Ohio. Burchfield described passing the rundown building that he described as a “big black hulk against the pink sky” and being overcome by his desire to record its “character.” The house’s sinking, curved form and the shapes within the windows suggest Burchfield’s development of symbols and the foreboding mood of his work at this time.
  • -1954
    Louise M. Dunn [1875-1962], Cleveland, OH, gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1954-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Trovato, Joseph S. Charles Burchfield: Catalogue of Paintings in Public and Private Collections. Utica: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1970, no. 398, p. 70, repr. p. 64. Mentioned: no. 398, p. 70; Reproduced: p. 64
    Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Burchfield. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland School of Art, 1941. Mentioned: no. 15
    Townsend, J. Benjamin, ed. Charles Burchfield's Journals: The Poetry of Place. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993. Mentioned: pp. 26-28; Reproduced: p. 28
    Burdan, Amanda. Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled. New York: Rizzoli Electa, 2024. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 33, fig. 7
  • Charles Burchfield: The Ohio Landscapes, 1915–1920. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 22, 2018-May 5, 2019).
    Cleveland Watercolors and Enamels. Beck Center for the Arts, Lakewood, OH (organizer) (April 20-July 26, 1976).
    Cleveland Watercolors and Enamels. Civic Art Center, Lakewood, OH (1976).
    Fine Arts Exhibition. Ohio State Fair, Columbus, OH (August 27-September 7, 1970).
    Fine Arts Exhibition. Ohio State Fair, Columbus, OH (August 27 - September 7, 1970).
    Charles Burchfield: Recent Paintings. Upton Hall Gallery, State University College at Buffalo (April 24 - May 19, 1963).
    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).
    Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Burchfield. Cleveland School of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 20 - May 10, 1941).
    Early Water Colors of Charles Burchfield. Phillips Memorial Gallery (November 5, 1933 - February 15, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=New Moon|url=false|author=Charles Burchfield|year=November 1917|access-date=23 February 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.569