Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2018.

Watering Time

Artist Charles Ephraim Burchfield (American, 1893 - 1967)

Date1921

MediumWatercolor and gouache drawing on paper, mounted on board

DimensionsOverall: 28 1/2 x 41 in. (72.4 x 104.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 34 3/4 x 46 1/2 in. (88.3 x 118.1 cm)

ClassificationsModern art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.626

Terms

Farm
Animals
Barns

Collections

American Art before 1945

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a watercolor and gouache on five pieces of paper mounted on board. It illustrates two barns next to each other and three horses feeding in the foreground, to the left of center. A rooster sits on top of a haystack by the barn on the left. A change in the weather is indicated by the weather vane on top of the barn on the right; large dark clouds roll into the painting from the right side.

Label TextCharles Burchfield American, 1893–1967 Watering Time, 1921 Watercolor and gouache drawing on paper, mounted on board This is among Charles Burchfield’s most experimental works. He mixed a variety of media, including watercolor, gouache, and possibly other materials. Burchfield enlarged the composition by attaching additional sheets to the top and sides of the painting. The finished result is a visionary depiction of a humble farmyard, a subject that was increasingly removed from modern American life, even by the 1920s. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.626