The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Backyards in Winter (Castoff Christmas Tree)

Backyards in Winter (Castoff Christmas Tree)

January 1917
(American, 1893–1967)
America, 20th century
watercolor, gouache, blue and orange crayons, and black wash on wove paper
Sheet: 36.3 x 45.8 cm (14 5/16 x 18 1/16 in.)
Anonymous gift in memory of Henry G. Keller 1954.571
Reproduced with permission from the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation
Catalogue raisonné: Straus; 281; Trovato 245
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Christmas trees recurred throughout Burchfield's work around this time.

Description

In this drawing, the gray and brown tones of a row of houses are interrupted by the bright green and yellow of a discarded Christmas tree. The work was created in the same year as Church Bells Ringing, where a Christmas tree visible through a window was meant to contrast the work’s foreboding mood. This earlier image similarly suggests Burchfield’s passion for his favorite holiday, which he saw as a symbol of goodness.
  • Henry Keller [1869-1949], Cleveland, Ohio
    1954
    Louise M. Dunn [1875-1962], gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
    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. Mentioned: p. 56, no. 245
    Trovato, Joseph S. Charles Burchfield: Catalogue of Paintings in Public and Private Collections. Utica: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1970, p. 56.
  • Charles Burchfield: The Ohio Landscapes, 1915–1920. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 22, 2018-May 5, 2019).
    Cleveland Traditions: Enamels and Watercolors from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 30-October 16, 1983).
    Japanese Artists Who Studied in the U.S.A.. The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (July 24-September 11, 1982); National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (September 14-October 11, 1982).
    Charles Burchfield Exhibition. Ashtabula Arts Center, Ashtabula, OH (organizer) (May 30-June 6, 1979).
    Charles Burchfield. Ashtabula Arts Center.
    Cleveland Watercolors and Enamels. Beck Center for the Arts, Lakewood, OH (organizer) (April 20-July 26, 1976).
    American Water Colors from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 23-September 25, 1974).
    Water Colors from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 23-September 16, 1973).
    Fine Arts Exhibition. Ohio State Fair, Columbus, OH (August 27-September 7, 1970).
    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).
    8th Exhibition of Water Colors and Pastels. The Cleveland Museum of Art (1930).
  • {{cite web|title=Backyards in Winter (Castoff Christmas Tree)|url=false|author=Charles Burchfield|year=January 1917|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.571