Crows in March

Charles Ephraim Burchfield

1893–1967

Crows in March, 1951

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: lithograph

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 345 x 244 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 13 9/16 x 9 5/8 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 404 x 302 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 15 7/8 x 11 7/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 16 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: R. Charles and Mary Margaret Clevenger Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 2013.0007

Not on display

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Exhibition Label:
“Holding Pattern: New Works at the Spencer Museum,” Sep-2014, Susan Earle and Cassandra Mesick
Although better known for his watercolors and paintings, American artist Charles Burchfield created a limited number of prints during his career. This example of Burchfield’s printmaking skills stylistically and thematically evokes his work in other media, which often show both natural and constructed landscapes animated with an unseen yet omnipresent spirit. The haunting and enigmatic Crows in March challenges the viewer to confront reality, which to Burchfield is a rather nebulous affair: “An artist must paint not what he sees in nature, but what is there. To do so he must invent symbols, which, if properly used, make his work seem even more real than what is in front of him.” Indeed, the birds, clouds, and vegetation in Crows in March are depicted in such a way to lend them dynamism but also suggest calligraphic and totemic symbols.