Interior of Breastworks on Round Top, Gettysburg
Alexander Gardner
American, born Scotland. 1821–1882
Timothy O'Sullivan
American, born Ireland. 1840–1882
July, 1863
An albumen silver print by Timothy O’Sullivan that documents the interior of hurriedly built breastworks on Round Top at Gettysburg, made to record the immediate aftermath and material traces of the 1863 battle.
The photograph arrests you with a low, jagged ring of rocks and plankwork strewn with sticks and papers in the foreground, set against a dark, tree-covered slope, all rendered in soft, somber tones that emphasize silence and human absence.
As part of early Civil War photography, O’Sullivan’s image helped establish photography’s power to bear witness to modern warfare by making the everyday debris and fortifications of battle visually and emotionally immediate.
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
7 × 9 1/16" (17.8 × 23 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Anonymous gift
Accession
34.1941.38
Palette
Exhibitions
