The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

The Sunflower Arch

The Sunflower Arch

1917
(American, 1893–1967)
America, 20th century
Black crayon, colored crayons, and indelible pencil, with graphite on wove paper, lined
Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Prasse Collection 1965.461
Reproduced with permission from the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Burchfield especially liked drawing dying sunflowers because of their anthropomorphic forms.

Description

At the time he made this drawing, Burchfield had begun to develop a personal symbolic language, which he called “Conventions for Abstract Thoughts.” Using simple forms, such as the arched shape of the flowers seen here, he aimed to communicate universal emotions—in this case, “Mute Sorrow.” Burchfield saw a connection between this mood and sunflowers, which were among his favorite subjects. He often depicted them anthropomorphically, suggesting either open eyes or, as here, slumped human forms—as he described, “giv[ing] a sense of pre-autumnal melancholy in early September.”
  • -1965
    Leona E. Prasse [1897-1985], gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1965-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Prasse, Leona E. The Drawings of Charles E. Burchfield. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1953. Mentioned: no. 24; Reproduced: plate V
    Bauer, John I. H. Charles Burchfield. Exh. Cat. New York: Whitney Museum, 1956. Mentioned: no. 99
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 191 archive.org
    Burchfield, Charles E., and Edith H. Jones. The Drawings of Charles Burchfield. New York: Frederic A. Praeger, 1968. Mentioned: p. 13; Reproduced: plate 4
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 191 archive.org
    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. 313
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 237 archive.org
    Thorson, Victoria. Great Drawings of All Times: The Twentieth Century, vol. II. Redding, CT: Talisman, 1979. Reproduced: fig. 342
  • 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): February 22, 2010 - May 17, 2010.
    Leona E. Prasse, Connoisseur and Curator. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 28-August 25, 1985).
    The Nature of Charles Burchfield: A Memorial Exhibition, 1893–1967, Paints, Drawings, Prints. Museum of Art, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1970 (April 9 – May 31, 1970).
    Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Prasse Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 11-October 21, 1968).
    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 Drawings of Charles E. Burchfield. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 4, 1953-January 10, 1954).
  • {{cite web|title=The Sunflower Arch|url=false|author=Charles Burchfield|year=1917|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1965.461