West Point

Artist Hardie Gramatky (1907 - 1979)

Date1947

MediumWatercolor on paper

Dimensions10 x 13 1/2 in. (25.4 x 34.3 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineGift of The Hilbert Collection

Object number2023.147

DescriptionMark Hilbert: “My wife and I were visiting West Point a couple of years ago, and I remember seeing this cannon there. This was painted in 1947; we were there probably in 2018 and this cannon is still right there, along with the benches for people to sit and look out across the Hudson. An interesting story: during the American Revolution, the Americans were afraid the English would sail up the Hudson River in their warships. So they fashioned a huge, heavy chain to reach all the way across the Hudson, about a 2-mile span. Just imagine the amount of work that went into forging those heavy links of the blockade chain! Some of the huge links are still on display not far from this cannon.”

On View

Not on view

Collections