La Tour de Solidor at St. Severin, Normandy

Carroll Beckwith, born Hannibal, MO 1852-died New York City 1917 · ca. 1877

James Carroll Beckwith made many trips to Europe throughout his life and spent at least one summer in Normandy. The coastal light inspired a series of moody paintings of dramatic ruins set against restless skies. This piece shows a fourteenth-century fortress in the city of Saint-Malo. Beckwith placed the massive structure at the top of the canvas against a dark, stormy sky to emphasize its height and grandeur.