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Object Timeline
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1921 |
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2008 |
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2015 |
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2025 |
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Sidewall, The Birches
This is a sidewall. It was designed by Charles Burchfield and produced by M.H. Birge & Sons Co.. It is dated 1921 and we acquired it in 2008. Its medium is machine-printed paper, embossed. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.
Charles Burchfield is one of the best known American watercolorists of the 20th century. It is less well known that he began designing wallpaper for the M. H. Birge and Sons in Buffalo, New York in 1921. Burchfield became chief designer in 1927 and remained with the firm until 1929. Burchfield designed at least 19 wallpapers while working with Birge. The Birches was his first wallpaper design and is based on his 1917 painting, Bluebird and Cottonwoods.
At the time of proposed acquisition, the museum’s collection includes small Burchfield wallpaper samples, including The Birches. The sample of The Birches is one of the museum’s most popular 20th-century wallpapers and has been included in Cooper-Hewitt exhibitions. Acquiring this roll of The Birches would allow us to exhibit a larger section of the design.
This object was
donated by
Curtis Stetter, Sharon Stetter and Lila Harnett.
It is credited Gift of Sharon and Curtis Stetter and Lila Harnett.
Its dimensions are
L x W: 670.6 x 50 cm (22 ft. x 19 11/16 in.)
It is inscribed
Printed in left selvedge: "Birge - Made in U.S.A. 1186"
Cite this object as
Sidewall, The Birches; Designed by Charles Burchfield (1893 – 1967); Produced by M.H. Birge & Sons Co. (United States); USA; machine-printed paper, embossed; L x W: 670.6 x 50 cm (22 ft. x 19 11/16 in.); Gift of Sharon and Curtis Stetter and Lila Harnett; 2008-19-1
