Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Pearlescent moonlight, associated with romance, radiates from the glowing, quivering moon in this evening narrative. Moonlight in a Flower Garden features spectacular Cecropia moths mating in a tree bough. Their wing patterns emulate crescent moons, making them perfect night creatures. Their joined bodies create a miniature canopy over a lush, mysterious garden bordered by ominous trees. The Cecropias’ short lifespan—only one or two weeks—factors into Charles Burchfield’s painting that symbolizes life, desire, apprehension, and death in an enchanting way. By contrast, a trumpet-like datura, or moonflower, that thrusts toward us, is a highly poisonous flower that only blooms at night. Red snapdragons, also known as dog flowers, have threatening, toothy mouths. Johnny Jump-ups, which are wild pansies, cluster in shadowy depths, wincing in fear. Distant trees loom over the garden with menacing shadows that mimic the artist’s 1917 Conventions for Abstract Thoughts for Aimless Abstraction (Hypnotic Intensity) and Melancholy / Sadness. In 1963, Burchfield explained that the painting had been “simmering for years” and was inspired by his 1917 watercolor, August Moon: “I decided to use cecropia moths again as a color foil for the somberness of the rest of the picture; then had to introduce more color in the garden to balance the moths. So in the end it was the moths that determined the mood of the picture.” As summer draws to a close and nights grow longer and cooler, the cycle of life is celebrated through magnificent Cecropia moths.

Want to know more about Cecropia Moths?

With a wingspan from 5 to 7 inches across, the Cecropia Moth is the largest moth in North America. In its first state as a plump green caterpillar, it spins itself into a silken cocoon, or chrysalis, in August or early September. There it transforms into a pupa and remains dormant for around ten months, until the weather warms again. If it survives winter and predators, the metamorphosed adult moth emerges. The female has a larger abdomen and narrow antennae; the male has a smaller body and wide, feathery antennae that detect the female’s attracting pheromones. Life is short. Their sole purpose is to reproduce. Paired at the abdomen, Cecropia moths mate for up to 24 hours. Females mate once and lay around 100 eggs on both sides of leaves, while males search at dusk for other females. Anatomically they don’t have the ability to eat and will expire in a week or two.

(Resources: https://www.nps.gov/articles/species-spotlight-cecropia-moth.htm, https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2021/05/24/cecropia-moths-mating/)

— Nancy Weekly, Burchfield Scholar, Burchfield Penney Art Center, 2025