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‘Winter Watercolors’ by Martha Burchfield Richter on display in West Seneca

Jan 12, 2023 | Arts & Culture

“Winter Watercolors,” an exhibit by Martha Burchfield Richter, is on display through February in the Martha Burchfield Richter Atrium of the West Seneca Community Center & Library, 1300 Union Road.

Consisting of a number of winter watercolors by Martha Burchfield Richter that were selected by guest curator Dr. Gerald Mead, the artwork depicts scenes in West Seneca and the surrounding region that document and celebrate the beauty and quietude of the season and how the snowfall transforms the trees, landscapes, homes and farms. They are all on loan from longtime West Seneca resident and art patron Louise Schoene, who owns the largest private collection of Martha’s artwork and archives. 

Martha Burchfield Richter (1924-1977) was a noted American watercolorist and daughter of the internationally renowned artist Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967). She grew up on Clinton Street across from Island Park (the current site of the Charles E. Burchfield Nature & Art Center established in 1999) and attended the Albright Art School in Buffalo and studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Similarly to her father, Martha had an affinity for flowering plants, trees and landscapes. She painted almost exclusively with watercolors, favored en plein air (outdoor) painting, and is known for her depictions of nature throughout the seasons, and landscapes of rural America. 

Martha Burchfield Richter’s paintings and drawings are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Butler Institute of American Art, Ford Motor Company, SUNY Buffalo State and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. She has been the subject of exhibitions in Buffalo at the Sisti Gallery, Central Park Gallery and Garret Club. Across the United States, Martha had solo exhibitions of her work in Detroit, Michigan, Salem, Ohio and Youngstown, Ohio.

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