SALEM Burchfield featured in artists' brochure

Burchfield was named 'best U.S. watercolorist' by Time magazine in 1956.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The boyhood residence of Salem native and watercolorist Charles Burchfield is being recognized through a program that showcases historic artists' homes and studios.
Burchfield's former house, now a museum at 867 E. Fourth St., is the only representative from Ohio contained in a brochure produced recently by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private nonprofit organization.
The agency identifies 28 places in 17 states. The locations "exemplify the best of our country's legacy of artistic creation," the brochure states.
Besides Burchfield's home, others mentioned include the homes and studios of Daniel Chester French, the sculptor of the seated Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.; of N.C. Wyeth, a renowned illustrator; and of Jackson Pollock, an abstract painter whose life was the subject of a movie produced in recent years.
Richard Wootten, director of the Burchfield Homestead Museum, said he is enthusiastic about the facility's being included.
So far, mention of the Burchfield museum in the brochure, which came out earlier this month, hasn't translated into more visitors, Wootten said.
But, he added, he believes the publication will help draw attention to the museum, which receives several hundred visitors annually.
Artist's fame
The brochure notes that Burchfield, who died in 1967, was named "best U.S. watercolorist" by Time magazine in 1956 and "artist to America" by President Lyndon Johnson.
Burchfield created most of his Ohio paintings in the modest two-story house. Often, his subjects were based on views from the home's windows.
The museum has regular weekend hours from mid-April through October.
The rest of the year, it can be viewed by calling Wootten at (330) 332-8601.
He personally gives free tours of the restored house.
The museum opened in 1999 after the house was restored after years of neglect.