North Wind In March

Burchfield - North Wind In March. . . the work went well on the picture – I established firmly the great black North motif in the sky, with wind clouds, the largest of which is spewing forth snow-flurries. I think I have established with the relation of the wind-blown red maples in bloom, and the sky and inevitableness which every picture must have – that is, the assurance that absolutely no other arrangement could possibly be right. . . . This picture gives me great joy. How slowly the “secrets” of my art come to me – it seems to me I have been searching all my life for this motif of Black North combined with the wind-cloud and snow-flurry. When I said this to Bertha, she said “aren’t you thankful that at 71 new secrets are being revealed to you?” and I certainly am.

Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, March 30, 1964

Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), North Wind in March, 1960-66; watercolor, 47 1/2 x 59 1/2 inches; OMAA Permanent Collection, Museum of Art of Ogunquit