{"data":{"id":"2570","type":"artwork","attributes":{"id":2570,"topgoose_id":17948,"portfolio_id":null,"tms_id":2570,"title":"Night Scene","display_artist_text":"Charles Burchfield","display_date":"1935","accession_number":"77.117","dimensions":"Sheet: 16 7/8 × 26 7/8 in. (42.9 × 68.3 cm)","medium":"Transparent and opaque watercolor, pastel, and charcoal on paper","department":"collection","classification":"Drawings","credit_line":"Gift of Charles Simon","is_virtual":false,"is_portfolio":false,"portfolio_tms_id":null,"portfolio":null,"edition":null,"publication_info":"","description":"\u003cp\u003eCharles Burchfield, \u003cem\u003eNight Scene\u003c/em\u003e, 1935. Transparent and opaque watercolor, pastel, and charcoal on paper, sheet: 16 7/8 × 26 7/8 in. (42.9 × 68.3 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Charles Simon 77.117. Reproduced with permission from the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.\u003c/p\u003e","object_label":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing in a long tradition of American painters who used their art to celebrate the majesty and grandeur of the national landscape, Charles Burchfield imbued his images of the natural world with a sense of spirituality and mystery. In \u003ci\u003eNight Scene\u003c/i\u003e, the central subject is the sky, made dramatic through the exaggerated contrast of the dark clouds and vibrant moonlight. The bright, radiating circles of light that punctuate the composition suggest disembodied eyes or perhaps fireflies. Here, as in all of Burchfield’s work, the varying effects of light, atmosphere, weather, and time of day—which the artist methodically recorded—are not simply empirical details but rather are vehicles for conveying a range of moods and emotions. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e","ai_alt_text":"Dark storm clouds loom over a windswept village while glowing eye-like lights dot the landscape.","alt_text":null,"visual_description":null,"on_view":false,"created_at":"2017-08-30T17:41:31.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-02-06T12:01:25.983-05:00","images":[{"id":94434,"url":"https://whitneymedia.org/assets/artwork/2570/77_117_cropped.jpg"}]},"relationships":{"artists":{"data":[{"id":"197","type":"artist"}]}}}}