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The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

BURCHFIELD, CHARLES EPHRAIM - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

BURCHFIELD, CHARLES EPHRAIM (9 Apr. 1893-10 Jan. 1967) was probably the most renowned graduate of the Cleveland School of Art (see CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART) and maintained Cleveland ties even after settling in Buffalo, N.Y. Born in Ashtabula, O., the son of Wm. Charles and Alice (Murphy) Burchfield, he moved to Salem, O., at the age of 5 following his father's death. In 1912 Burchfield entered the Cleveland School of Art, where he was a student of HENRY KELLER† and FRANK WILCOX†. He served in the Army in WORLD WAR I, after which he exhibited paintings at LAUKHUFF'S BOOKSTORE in the Taylor Arcade and won first prize in a CLEVELAND SOCIETY OF ARTISTS exhibit in 1921. He moved to Buffalo that year to work as a wallpaper designer, and in 1922 he married Bertha Kenreich of Greenford, O., with whom he had 5 children. Burchfield earned a reputation as a regional realist during the decades between the 2 world wars for his watercolors of small town life, reportedly inspired by his reading of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio. Between 1930-41 he had 8 one-man shows at the Rehn Gallery in New York City. During WORLD WAR II his interest shifted from town scenes to subjects of nature, and after the war he also began to teach on a limited scale. He had one-man shows at the Cleveland School of Art in 1940 and the Cleveland Town and Country Gallery in 1948, while the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART held a retrospective exhibit of his drawings in 1953. He continued to paint up to his death from a heart attack near his home. Burchfield was buried in W. Seneca, New York.

Last Modified: 14 Jul 1997 04:44:49 PM

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