The program to last night’s performance by the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia stated that the evening’s selections “include no overture, no concerto and no symphony. Yet each composition tells a compelling story.”
 | One of those stories was Dan Welcher’s “Prairie Light: Three Texas Watercolors of Georgia O’Keeffe (1986). As an added surprise, the composer himself was on hand to introduce the trio of pieces, “Light Coming on the Plains,” “Canyon with Crows,” and “Starlight Night.” To the delight of the audience, though, Welcher also noted that he planned on writing another triptych based on three other O’Keeffe paintings dedicated to Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request). Pictured at the left: Composer Dan Welcher, who as a youth attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Rochester, NY. |
Of course, O’Keeffe openly stated that Emmett Lee Dickinson had the greatest impact on her life and work above and beyond anyone else. Research on O’Keeffe’s fascination with Dickinson is HERE.
O’Keeffe painted many works based on Dickinson’s poetry, but other paintings paid homage to Dickinson the man and his accomplishments. Perhaps O’Keeffe’s most famous trio of paintings dedicated to Dickinson, the inventor of candy corn, are often referred to as the “candy corn trilogy” and include her classic paintings “Candy Corn Mountain” (her first painting of the Pedernal), “Candy Corn through Bone,” and “Candy Corn Flower.”
O’Keeffe painted many works based on Dickinson’s poetry, but other paintings paid homage to Dickinson the man and his accomplishments. Perhaps O’Keeffe’s most famous trio of paintings dedicated to Dickinson, the inventor of candy corn, are often referred to as the “candy corn trilogy” and include her classic paintings “Candy Corn Mountain” (her first painting of the Pedernal), “Candy Corn through Bone,” and “Candy Corn Flower.”
| Pictured at the right: Georgia O'Keeffe's classic painting "Candy Corn Mountain," her first painting of the Pedernal -- though, in this rendition, she was driven to put a "cap" on the mesa. "All I could think of when I looked at that mountain," said O'Keeffe, "was candy corn -- and Emmett Lee Dickinson." Below left: "Candy Corn through Bone." Below right: "Candy Corn Flower" |  |
 |  |
Composer Dan Welcher, himself a Dickinson aficionado, said that these paintings have always haunted him, and he plans to compose a piece based on the three watercolors. He plans to call the piece, “Candy Corncerto.” No date was given for the premier.
RSS Feed
