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Migration of Butterflies by Moonlight

Migration of Butterflies by Moonlight

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Charles Ephraim Burchfield

"In his journals Charles Burchfield (1893-1967) once referred to himself as "an inlander in spirit," remarking that hay or wheat fields seen on a windy, clear day lured his imagination as much as the ocean would have. The description is apt in that the artist consistently chose his subjects from the countryside near his home. 'Migration of Butterflies by Moonlight,' in the collection of the Elvehjem Museum of Art, records such an habitual episode of the natural world: a swarm of migrating Monarch butterflies flitting through the moonlit sky above a flowering meadow. Yet the event sustains an edge of miracle and mystery. This singular phenomenon of butterfly migration has eluded complete scientific explanation; and were such found, the arduous, continent-spanning flight of these graceful creatures would remain an awesome spectacle. Burchfield's portrayal of the event enhances this aspect of the extraordinary. Through the metamorphosis of form he worked on the familiar locale and event and the artistic license he exercised with biological fact - Monarchs usually roost at night - this American watercolorist has led the viewer far beyond the immediate, physical actualities into the realm of visionary experience." From "Charles Burchfield's 'Migration of Butterflies in Moonlight': a Vision of Fantasy and Revelation, Bulletin 1978-80.
Artist
Charles Ephraim Burchfield
(American, 1893 - 1967)
Title
Migration of Butterflies by Moonlight
Date
1963
Medium
Watercolor
Dimensions
32 1/2 x 39 in. Overall
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Newman T. Halvorson
Accession No.
1980.57
Classification
Drawings & Watercolors
Geography
United States

Related

By 1970, sold by Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries (New York, NY) to Mr. and Mrs. Newman T. Halvorson (Gates Mills, OH); November 1980, gifted to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Watrous, James. "A Century of Capricious Collecting 1877-1970: From the Gallery in Science Hall to the Elvehjem Museum of Art," Madison, WI: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1987. p. 34, fig. 1
  • Elvehjem Art Center. "Inaugural Exhibition: 19th & 20th Century Art from Collections of Alumni & Friends." Madison, WI: Regents of the University of Wisconsin, 1970. p. 71, no. 73
  • Klaric, Arlette. "Charles Burchfield's 'Migration of Butterflies by Moonlight': A Vision of Fantasy and Revelation." In Bulltetin 1978-1980, Madison: Elvehjem Art Center, 1980. pp. 26-37
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Bulletin 1978-1980." Madison: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1980. p. 27

  • Companion Species: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 10/18/2021–12/30/2021
  • Inaugural Exhibition: 19th & 20th Cen. Art from Collection of Alumni & Friends: Elvehjem Art Center, 9/11/1970–11/8/1970
  • Nature of Charles Burchfield, The - A Memorial Exhibition: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 4/9/1970–5/31/1970

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