Charles Ephraim Burchfield

Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries, New York
Drs. Macia and Meyer Friedman, San Francisco, California (sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 28, 2001, lot 129)
Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Tucson, Arizona, The University of Arizona Art Gallery, His Golden Year: A Restrospective Exhibition of Watercolors, Oils and Graphics by Charles E. Burchfield, November 1965 - January 1966, cat. no. 56, p. 93, illustrated p. 31

Edward Hopper, "Charles Burchfield-American," Arts, July 1928, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 7
"Edward Hopper Objects," Arts of Today, February 1935, vol. 6, p. 11
Joseph S. Trovato, Charles Burchfield: Catalogue of Paintings in Public and Private Collections, Utica, New York, 1970, cat. no. 706, p. 122
J. Benjamin Townsend, ed., Charles Burchfield's Journal: The Poetry of Place, Albany, New York, 1993, pp. 255, 679, cat. no. 31, illustrated p. 256, fig. 79

Watercolor and gouache on paper, with traces of pencil, laid down on board, with an added horizontal strip along entirety of top edge, which the artist has painted. Generally in good condition. Scattered tears throughout edges, the largest being 1 1/2 inches at lower part of left edge. Tears have been corrected by the artist's laying the paper down on board. Minor scattered scratches.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In a 1928 review of Charles Burchfield's work, his friend and fellow American watercolorist, Edward Hopper, provided interpretative praise for the present lot, stating "[Burchfield's] November Dawn is not an artist's dawn, but a real, honest-to-God sunrise.  One looks out of the window and sees the black plain of the land against the red of the sky.  A straight road and a lawn in the foreground, and on the other side of the road a pond or creek reflecting the sky.  All the scene so familiar to the eye, changed to wonder by the early morning, stated with such simple honesty and effacement of the mechanics of art as to give almost the shock of the reality itself."