Fort Tilden II

Paul Caranicas, Fort Tilden II, 1979, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.14
Copied Paul Caranicas, Fort Tilden II, 1979, pencil on paper, sheet: 23 1⁄4 x 30 3⁄4 in. (59.2 x 78.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.14

Artwork Details

Title
Fort Tilden II
Artist
Date
1979
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 23 1⁄4 x 30 3⁄4 in. (59.2 x 78.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
pencil on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture — military — Fort Tilden
Object Number
1986.6.14
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.14

Artwork Description

Paul Caranicas discovered a surreal beauty in the abandoned, block-like shells of World War II defensive bunkers along the US and French coastlines. In Fort Tilden II, the viewer, like the soldiers who once kept watch, looks out from deep within the interior. For Caranicas, the crumbling concrete floor and water-stained walls link past and present, creating a sense, he said, that "time stands still."


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

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