America / December 1917
Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night as drawing (America · December 1917).
Salem's Baptist Church, a central feature of Burchfield's composition, has since been destroyed by fire.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this drawing as watercolor and gouache over graphite on wove paper and credits Charles Burchfield (American, 1893–1967).
The museum's collection notes: Burchfield considered this drawing among the greatest accomplishments of his “golden year.” This period followed a time of self-doubt and uncertainty: after graduating from the Cleveland School of Art, Burchfield enrolled in the National Academy of Design in New York City, but dropped out after one day, returning to Salem to work an office job. He painted inexhaustibly during his breaks and at night, depicting Salem and its environs in an increasingly abstract style. Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night shows the spire of Salem’s Baptist church rising up between two houses. Burchfield hoped to express his powerful childhood fear of the be
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtChurch Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter NightOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.