Gunnery building before 1890

This is Edward H. Hart's photographic study of the Gunnery building. The photograph renders the building in a composition of geometric forms contrasted with organic shapes that evoke a quiet harmony. The building itself is a rectangle fronted by a portico of evenly spaced vertical columns. The flat plane of the lawn in the foreground acts as a stabilizing base, from which the architectural structure rises. Flanking the building on either side are trees whose rounded canopies soften the linear formality of the architecture. Hart plays with contrasts, juxtaposing the solidity of the building with the more ephemeral quality of light filtering through the leaves. The positioning of two figures on the path introduces a human element, providing a sense of scale and grounding the photograph in everyday life. Hart invites us to consider how the formal elements of architecture and nature interact within the photographic frame. It captures a moment of stillness and contemplation, where geometric and organic forms converge.