Church Bells Ringing

Charles Burchfield (American, 1893-1967) Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night, December 1917 Transparent watercolor, opaque watercolor, and graphite on two sheets of paper The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Louise M. Dunn in memory of Henry G. Keller 1949.544

A masterpiece of American modernist art, this painting depicts a church in Burchfields hometown of Salem, Ohio. The artist described it as a visionary effort to recreate a childhood experience: ìIt was an attempt to express a childhood emotiona rainy winter nightthe church bell is ringing and it terrifies me (the child)the bell ringing motive reaches out and saturates the rainy skythe roofs of the houses dripping with rain are influenced; the child attempts to be comforted by the thoughts of candle lights and Christmas trees, but the fear of the black, rainy night is overpowering.