Charles Burchfield

Night Scene
1935

A watercolor painting depicting a dark, ominous sky with swirling clouds, some of which have eye-like formations, over a shadowy landscape with buildings that also have eye-like windows. A bright explosion or fireball illuminates the horizon, contrasting with the dark tones of the scene. The artwork conveys a surreal, almost nightmarish atmosphere.

Following 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 Night Scene, 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.

Not on view

Date
1935

Classification
Drawings

Medium
Transparent and opaque watercolor, pastel, and charcoal on paper

Dimensions
Sheet: 16 7/8 × 26 7/8in. (42.9 × 68.3 cm)

Accession number
77.117

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Charles Simon

Rights and reproductions
Reproduced with permission from the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

API
artworks/2570