Charles E. Burchfield, Letter to Dr. and Mrs. Theodor W. Braasch, October 20, 1959

Dear Friends:
… I do not know if I told you this or not, but “Autumnal Fantasy” was one of a group of four pictures that I thought of as comprising a “Symphony of the Seasons” ― I even fondly imagined them being sold only as a group and staying that way. First Movement ― Allegro “Cherry-Blossom Snow” Second “Adagio ― “Sphynx and the Milky Way” Third ― Scherzo: Autumnal Fantasy” Fourth: Allegro Vivace ― “The Blizzard” However, the Adagio did not get finished, and the group was shown with “August Twilight” (first version) and “Midsummer Caprice” replacing “The Sphynx etc.” ― Of course the idea of keeping them as a group was too grandiose, but I thought the idea might intrigue you. At the time of their first showing a composer wrote me that he thought of the “Autumnal Fantasy” as a “Variations on an Original Theme.” Not inapt….
Charles Burchfield, October 20, 1959