The Bradford County Historical Society recently received a painting entitled, “The End of an Era,” as a gift from Cheri Burchard, a native of Towanda and now a painter from Dawsonville, Georgia.
The painting shows a barn and silo set in a country landscape, a scene that reminds Cheri of her childhood in Towanda during the 1940’s and 50’s.
Cheri Fitzgerald Burchard’s journey as an artist began with her first art lesson at age nine with her mother, Dorothy Young Fitzgerald, in the basement of Harden’s Store in Towanda. The lessons were taught by an artist from Elmira. Cheri remembers, “We took the class to help us through the grief of losing my father, William Paul Fitzgerald, in a car accident on the bridge over the railroad tracks in Waverly.”
She continued painting and later trained at the National Cathedral School and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Subsequently, Cheri studied art at Sweet Briar College, sculpture at the American University, design at the International Institute of Interior Design, sculpture at La Escuella Belles Artes in Mexico City and has also studied at the Louvre in France.
Cheri has taught the history of art, rendering, mechanical drawing, art practicum, and the psychology of color at Bay Path College, Teikyo Post University, and the University of Connecticut, respectively.
Cheri makes brilliant use of confident colors and textures in her paintings, describing herself as a post-impressionistic colorist. She describes painting as a spiritual experience and she hopes that her paintings will bring joy, beauty and blessing to their owners.
These paintings have hung in galleries in New England, Virginia Beach, and Georgia to name a few. Her art is also displayed in the United States Senate building (Georgia office) in Washington, DC.
Despite Cheri’s success, many of her most cherished memories are of times spent in her hometown.
“My heart will always love and be thankful for my youth in Bradford County,” explained Cheri. “Some Sunday afternoons my family would take a ride out on dirt roads to see the animals, farms and beautiful scenery. This was a real treat because gas was rationed. When I was child dairy farming was our major industry.”
“The End of an Era” will be on display when the Bradford County Historical Society museum reopens next Spring for the 2011 season.
For more information on Cheri Burchard and her art, visit her website at www.cheriburchard.com. More information about the Bradford County Historical Society can be found at www.bradfordhistory.com. The Bradford County Historical Society is a recipient agency of PHMC and the Bradford County United Way.
