$3,198
After Charles Ephraim Burchfield (American, 1893-1967) Thirty-seven Wallpaper Samples (36 flat and one roll) for M. H. Birge and Sons Many marked "DESIGNED BY BURCHFIELD" along the selvage, most with "BIRGE - MADE IN U.S.A." along the selvage. Flat sizes to approximately 37 x 22 in. (94.0 x 55.9 cm), roll 20 1/2 in. (52.0 cm) wide, (length not measured), unmatted, unframed. Condition: Some with tears through the sheet or to the margins. Provenance: Acquired directly from Martha Burchfield, the artist's daughter, in the early 1970s, to the current owner by family descent. N.B. From 1921 to 1929, Burchfield was a designer for H.M. Birge and Sons, a wallpaper company in Buffalo, New York. He began as an assistant in the design department, facilitated by an introduction through Henry Turner Bailey, dean of the Cleveland School of Art, to assist Burchfield upon graduation. The Birge firm produced a line of about 100 new designs each year, but Burchfield's original designs were classified as "Special" and were offered at a rate of one or two per year. In 1927 Burchfield was made head designer for the firm. He spent most of each year creating and overseeing designs, with the final quarter being consumed working through production and approving the printings in dozens of color schemes. The job at Birge was critical in the early 1920s for Burchfield to support a wife and growing family. However, he became increasingly disenchanted as the years passed, and, in the summer o Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2016-09-23
