Artwork
Backyards in Winter (Castoff Christmas Tree)
Backyards in Winter (Castoff Christmas Tree) is a drawing by Charles Burchfield. It dates from 1917 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Created in January 1917, this drawing portrays a winter backyard where a fallen Christmas tree lies on its side amid a snowy yard.
About this work
A scraggly Christmas tree lies on its side in a snowy backyard, its needles still bright green against the gray slush.
A scraggly Christmas tree lies on its side in a snowy backyard, its needles still bright green against the gray slush. Behind it, a row of plain wooden houses stretches into the distance, their windows dark.
Burchfield made this in January 1917, right after the holidays. He loved Christmas—not for the presents, but for the quiet hope it brought. The tree, usually a centerpiece, is now trash, yet it still glows with color.
If you like this, look up *subject: america*—Burchfield painted everyday scenes like this all his life.
Overview
Created in January 1917, this drawing portrays a winter backyard where a fallen Christmas tree lies on its side amid a snowy yard. The tree’s vivid green needles and touches of yellow contrast sharply with the muted gray‑brown tones of a row of modest wooden houses that recede into the distance, their windows dark against the overcast sky.
Subject & Meaning
The composition juxtaposes the discarded festive symbol with an otherwise bleak urban setting, reflecting the artist’s view of Christmas as a quiet source of hope and moral goodness. Even as the tree is reduced to waste, its lingering color suggests an enduring optimism that persists beyond the holiday’s formal celebrations.
Technique & Style
Rendered in a restrained palette of grays and browns, the drawing employs precise line work to delineate the houses, while broader, more expressive strokes capture the tree’s tangled branches and bright foliage. The contrast between detailed architectural forms and the looser treatment of the tree underscores the tension between order and the lingering vitality of the season.
History & Provenance
The work was produced in the same year as Burchfield’s *Church Bells Ringing*, another winter scene that uses a Christmas tree as a visual counterpoint to a somber mood. Both pieces illustrate the artist’s ongoing interest in ordinary American environments and his personal attachment to the holiday’s symbolic resonance.
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Ephraim Burchfield (April 9, 1893 – January 10, 1967) was an American painter and visionary artist, known for his passionate watercolors of nature scenes and townscapes.
Spennertin tontti, nykyinen Mannerheimintie 84
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