The Burchfield-Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College is pleased to announce that the exhibition, American Land, American Life, opens on November 15 and will be on view through February 8, 2004.

Few artists or writers have been able to show so distinctively the amazing characteristics of the natural world as Charles E. Burchfield. He drew inspiration from authors such as Henry David Thoreau and John Burroughs, and poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant and John Greenleaf Whittier.

At the age of twenty, already immersed in the idea of recording his intense impressions, he decided to become an artist instead of a naturalist. On a tranquil autumn day, he wrote of the ideal solution: "Clear skies, warm sunshine— And wonderful cool breezes from the south— A calm quietness has settled over all things. The odor of burning leaves— What intoxication it contains! — I long for the woods. — The woods! — I am hoping for a day when I can give myself entirely up to Nature."

From that eventful day in October 1913, Burchfield pursued every opportunity to merge his love of nature with his need to convey its marvels through his art. He especially wanted to reach people whose lives became too busy to notice the interesting patterns and complex details of common plants, insects, and birds. He was concerned that their hurried lives left no time to appreciate the effects of weather on everything that surrounds them.

The artist also conveyed his love of Nature in works that substitute buildings for people, situated in the midst of his community, revealing the charms of small town life in Ohio, the pioneer spirit and struggles characteristic of the rural frontier, the rustic appeal of old urban structures, and Buffalo Harbor’s vital shipping industry tied to grain elevators. Purposely he painted the American experience both realistically and expressively to champion its unique qualities.

This exhibition demonstrates Charles E. Burchfield’s ethos through paintings, drawings, prints and wallpapers from the Burchfield-Penney's collection, the largest, most comprehensive Burchfield Collection in the world. Notably, the exhibition includes the museum’s most recent acquisition, Roadside Stream, painted in 1939, a gift of Mrs. Sylvia L. Rosen

About the Burchfield-Penney Art Center

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is a museum dedicated to the art and vision of Charles E. Burchfield and distinguished artists of Buffalo Niagara and Western New York State. Through its affiliation with Buffalo State College, the museum encourages learning and celebrates our richly creative and diverse community. For more information, call (716) 878-6011 or visit www.burchfield-penney.org.

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and County of Erie. Additional operating support is provided by the Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Trust, the Mary A. H. Rumsey Foundation and the Burchfield-Penney's members.