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Cannonball Monument, Shiloh Battlefield. TN 22, near Shiloh, Tennessee
Cannonball Monument, Shiloh Battlefield. TN 22, near Shiloh, Tennessee

Cannonball Monument, Shiloh Battlefield. TN 22, near Shiloh, Tennessee

Former TitleMonument of Cannonballs, TN Rte 22, Shiloh Battlefield, TN
Artist Jim Dow (American, born 1942)
Date1975
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 7 5/8 × 9 11/16 inches (19.38 × 24.61 cm)
Sheet: 8 13/16 × 10 15/16 inches (22.4 × 27.76 cm)
Credit LineGift of Jim and Jacquie Dow
Object number2018.55.7
SignedSigned on sheet verso, bottom, in pencil.
InscribedTitled, dated, and editioned on sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: "MONUMENT OF CANNONBALLS, TN R22, SHILOH BATTLEFIELD, TN 1975 #1/25"
MarkingsNotation on sheet verso, right edge, in pencil: " [?] #2; AMM [?] w [?] WB; 4+3, D.8 3/24"
Edition/State/Proofed. 1/25
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionImage of a tiered pedestal with cannonballs stacked in the form of a pyramid; the monument rests in a grassy field next to a road.Gallery Label
Monuments may also be understood as signs, meant to commemorate historic figures and events in public spaces. This cannonball monument marks the campsite of a Union commander during the Battle of Shiloh, an early conflict during the American Civil War and one of its deadliest battles. By including a strip of road to the left of the image and a cultivated field behind the monument, Dow presents the structure as part of the contemporary landscape. In so doing, he suggests that the present inevitably shapes our understanding of historic sites such as Shiloh, a former battlefield turned national military park.
Provenance
The Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2018;   
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.

Jim Dow, Belmont, MA;

His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.

Copyright© Jim Dow
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