Nathaniel C. Burwash
Nathaniel C. Burwash (1906 - 2000) was a gifted artist and a more gifted friend to many. This website is a project of the New Dawn Trust, which is dedicated to educating the public about the artist, his work, and his life philosophy. What follows is a short overview of the life of Nat Burwash. A more detailed biography written by Nat's friend Steven Spitzer is also available.
Nat Burwash at Work
Nat's Career
Prior to moving to Cambridge, MA in 1941 Nat produced a vast number works as a water color artist for the Works Progress Administration. Later in life Nat shifted gears and took up the life of a wood sculptor, and continued that avocation until he died. He produced over 300 sculptures, some of which were made into bronzes. |  An Early Photo of Nat |
Nat's Cabin
During the depression years he and his wife, Ida, lived in a cabin in the woods of Washington, New Hampshire, in an uninsulated summer cabin he built himself, while he worked for the WPA.
Nat bragged as there was never any power tools on the property. He would get up early and go out and “buck-saw” firewood for the two wood-burning stoves that kept the cabin warm in the cold days of winter. Kerosene lamps provided light at night and the outhouse worked. The well served as the refrigerator, and the cellar (formed from boulders) stored vegetables and herbs for later use.
When Ida became ill in 1980, Nat sold the cabin. He hated to part with it, but since they could not go up there to enjoy it, he believed that someone should enjoy it the way they did. I first met Nat and Ida when I was six years old, as our family’s cabin was nearby and we became close friends—more like family.
Nat's Artwork
Nat was
a prolific sculptor, and most of his work
resides in
the homes of many friends who bought his work as his work communicates a special
warmth; Nat was able to permit the
object within the wood (be it a bird, frog, dancers, etc.) be freed from the
confines of its “cover” and emerge to permit us to enjoy the work. His work was
exhibited at many shows. When over 120
of his WPA paintings were discovered at the State Library in Concord, New
Hampshire and the State Library found Nat, twenty of his works were framed and
put in a traveling show around New Hampshire. Several of his sculptures were
exhibited with the paintings. |  A Sculpture of the New Dawn |
Nat's Philosophy
Nat knew the importance solitude is to the creative mind of an artist. He wanted other artists to enjoy what he had in the New Hampshire woods. The New Dawn Trust was created in 1998 in order to accomplish this purpose. “New Dawn” is one of his most important sculptures. Created in 1993, some may say it is a bird, others an SST, or a cross between the two; still others say it is a whale. It is what you see in your mind’s eye. But Nat expressed what it meant to him in a poem he wrote:
Do others believe
as I do, that the
Time has come to
find a new
relationship
between the earth’s
gifts and man’s
needs?
Man goes on,
earth’s gifts diminish.
My “New Dawn”
Symbolizes earth’s
gifts and
Man’s achievements.
Can our
civilization have –
A New Dawn.
Nat Burwash's Timeline
| 1906 | Born in Los Angeles, California |
| 1916 | Moved to family farm in Hudson Falls, NY |
| 1925-29 | Mechanics Institute in Rochester, NY |
| 1930 | Nova Scotia and European Travels |
| 1931 | Study with George Grosz at Art Student's League in New York |
| 1932 | Met Ida Brass, his lifelong companion |
| 1933 | Works Progress Administration Job and Treasury Relief Project for Artists |
| 1934 | “HOBO RANCH” and Building Camp in Washington, NH |
| 1934-41 | “COUNTING TREES” in New Hampshire |
| 1936 | Painting Exhibition at Whitney Museum of American Art, NY |
| 1936-40 | Painting Exhibitions at Currier Gallery in Manchester, NH |
| 1939 | Exhibitions at Brooklyn Museum and Art Institute of Chicago |
| 1942 | Moved to Cambridge, MA, Began Wood Pattern Making for M.I.T. |
| 1946 | First of Five Shows at Boris Mirski Gallery, Boston, MA (1946-1971) |
| 1948 | First of many trips to Na Blom (Mayan Dig in Oaxaca, Mexico) |
| 1953 | Sculpture exhibition at Decordova-Dana Museum |
| 1954 | Sculpture exhibit at University of New Hampshire, Durham |
| 1959 | Began working in Teaching Design at M.I.T. (Educational Services Inc.) |
| 1964-71 | Director of Design Lab of Educational Development Center |
| 1965 | St. Lawrence University begins major collection of sculpture |
| 1966 | Worked in Entebbe, Uganda designing objects for elementary Science Teaching |
| 1971 | “RETIREMENT” from E.D.C. |
| 1973-77 | Teaching Sculpture at New England Craftsmanship Center |
| 1976-78 | Shore Gallery, Boston, MA |
| 1980 | Sold New Hampshire Camp |
| 1984 | Ida dies |
| 1986-94 | Teaching at Decordova- Dana Museum School |
| 1988-93 | Summer trips to Clear Lake, Washington and its forests |
| 1990-94 | Sculpture exhibitions at The Copley Society, Boston, MA |
| 1993 | Completion and casting of “NEW DAWN” |
| 1994 | Inauguration of the Burwash Collection at the Zevin Gardens |
Timeline © 1995 Nat Burwash and Steven Spitzer
More Pictures of Nat Burwash
While the New Dawn Trust primarily features a gallery of Nat's artwork, we also have a photo gallery of Nat Burwash, his friends, and his family for those who are interested.
Special thanks for their generosity and support to Georgiana Druchyk, Barbara Lawthers, John McKee, and Alan Jay Rom.