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{{Short description|Monument in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, USA}}
{{Short description|Monument in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, USA}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{italic title}}
{{italic title}}
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==History==
==History==
The monument commemorates Dexter Graves, who in 1831 led a group of thirteen families from Ohio to settle in Chicago.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lanctot |first=Barbara |title=A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery: A Chicago Architecture Foundation Walking Tour |location=Chicago, IL |year=1992 |page=6}}</ref> Graves died in 1844, 75 years before the statue's creation and 16 years before Graceland Cemetery was founded. His body was presumably relocated from its original resting place at the old City Cemetery (the present site of Lincoln Park).<ref name="mysteriouschicago.com">{{cite web|url=http://mysteriouschicago.com/the-strange-history-of-eternal-silence-gracelands-statue-of-death/|title=The Strange History of "Eternal Silence," Graceland's "Statue of Death" |website=Mysterious Chicago Tours|access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref> The will of Graves' son Henry, who died in 1907, provided $250,000{{efn|{{Inflation|US|250000|1907|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}} in funds for the monument and another $40,000{{efn|{{Inflation|US|40000|1907|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}} intended to commemorate Henry's favorite race horse, Ike Cook. The Cook monument was to stand alongside a drinking fountain for horses in Washington Park.<ref name="mysteriouschicago.com"/> The horse monument never materialized, despite the construction of a model; instead, in 1920, another Taft piece, ''[[Fountain of Time]]'', was built in its place and features a hooded figure similar to the one in ''Eternal Silence''.<ref name="mysteriouschicago.com"/>
The monument commemorates Dexter Graves, who in 1831 led a group of thirteen families from Ohio to settle in Chicago.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lanctot |first=Barbara |title=A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery: A Chicago Architecture Foundation Walking Tour |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=Chicago Architecture Foundation |year=1992 |page=6}}</ref> Graves died in 1844, 75 years before the statue's creation and 16 years before Graceland Cemetery was founded. His body was presumably relocated from its original resting place at the old City Cemetery (the present site of Lincoln Park).<ref name="mysteriouschicago.com">{{cite web|url=http://mysteriouschicago.com/the-strange-history-of-eternal-silence-gracelands-statue-of-death/|title=The Strange History of "Eternal Silence," Graceland's "Statue of Death" |website=Mysterious Chicago Tours|date=December 10, 2015 |access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref> The will of Graves' son Henry, who died in 1907, provided $250,000{{efn|{{Inflation|US|250000|1907|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}} in funds for the monument and another $40,000{{efn|{{Inflation|US|40000|1907|fmt=eq}}{{inflation/fn|US}}}} intended to commemorate Henry's favorite race horse, Ike Cook. The Cook monument was to stand alongside a drinking fountain for horses in Washington Park.<ref name="mysteriouschicago.com"/> The horse monument never materialized, despite the construction of a model; instead, in 1920, another Taft piece, ''[[Fountain of Time]]'', was built in its place and features a hooded figure similar to the one in ''Eternal Silence''.<ref name="mysteriouschicago.com"/>


Ada Bartlett Taft's 1946 book ''Lorado Taft; Sculptor and Citizen'' lists ''Eternal Silence'' as one of the artist's most important works.<ref name=nrhp3>Kiefer, et al., pp. 146–47.</ref> Images of ''Eternal Silence'' have been used in other artworks, including those by [[Claes Oldenburg]].<ref name=nrhp3/> One [[folklore|folktale]] claims that looking into the eyes of the statue's hooded figure causes the viewer to see a vision of his or her own death.<ref name=bielski/>
Ada Bartlett Taft's 1946 book ''Lorado Taft; Sculptor and Citizen'' lists ''Eternal Silence'' as one of the artist's most important works.<ref name=nrhp3>{{harvcoltxt|Kiefer|Achilles|Vogel|2000|pp=146–147}}</ref> Images of ''Eternal Silence'' have been used in other artworks, including those by [[Claes Oldenburg]].<ref name=nrhp3/> One [[folklore|folktale]] claims that looking into the eyes of the statue's hooded figure causes the viewer to see a vision of his or her own death.<ref name=bielski/>


==Design==
==Design==
[[File:Chicago, Illinois Eternal Silence1.jpg|thumb|right|Hooded bronze figure]]
[[File:Chicago, Illinois Eternal Silence1.jpg|thumb|right|Hooded bronze figure]]
''Eternal Silence'' has been called "eerie",<ref name=nrhp1>Kiefer, et al., pp. 68–69.</ref> "somber",<ref name=nrhp1/> "grim-looking",<ref name=cutler>Cutler, Irving. ''Chicago: Metropolis of the Mid-Continent'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=TbLkURD3SesC&dq=eternal+silence+taft&pg=PA285 Google Books link]), SIU Press, 2006, p. 285, ({{ISBN|0809327023}}).</ref> "mysterious",<ref name=aia>Sinkevitch, Alice. ''AIA Guide to Chicago'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=aQE21zTaju8C&dq=eternal+silence+taft&pg=PA227 Google Books link]), [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]], 2004 p. 227, ({{ISBN|0156029081}}).</ref> and "haunting".<ref name=aia/> The [[bronze]] figure, based on traditional depictions of the [[Grim Reaper]], is set against a [[black granite]] base and stands {{convert|10|ft}} tall upon that base.<ref name=nrhp1/> The black granite provides contrast for the bronze statue, which is heavily [[oxidized]] because of its age.<ref name=nrhp1/><ref name=cohn/> The cemetery used to shine the statue to return its true bronze patina but received many complaints and requests to return it to its more dramatic green sheen; the cemetery now keeps the statue in its preferred oxidized state. The hooded figure was influenced by Taft's own "ideas on death and silence".<ref name=nrhp3/> Historically speaking, the figure in ''Eternal Silence'' is related to the sculpted funeral procession around the [[Tomb of Philip the Bold]] in [[Dijon, France]] and the [[Adams Memorial (Saint-Gaudens)|Adams Memorial]] by [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=nrhp3/> The statue has been noted as Graceland Cemetery's most "unforgettable" monument.<ref name=bielski>Bielski, Ursula. ''Creepy Chicago: A Ghosthunter's Tale of the City's Scariest Sites'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=HpJaL7t7IyIC&dq=eternal+silence+taft&pg=PA93 Google Books link]), Lake Claremont Press, 2003, p. 93, ({{ISBN|1893121151}}).</ref><ref name=nrhp1/><ref name=cohn>Cohn, Scottie. ''Chicago Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=aPwnZwxmFW8C&dq=eternal+silence+taft&pg=PA86 Google Books link]), [[Globe Pequot]], 2011, pp. 86–87, ({{ISBN|0762759844}}).</ref> The monument was designed by Taft and cast by Jules Bercham.<ref name=prop>"[http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/Reports/Reports.aspx?&RefNumVariable=210457&FormType=Short Graceland Cemetery, Graves Monument] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911102540/http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/Reports/Reports.aspx |date=2009-09-11 }}", Property Information Report, HAARGIS Database, ''[[Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]]'', accessed October 8, 2011.</ref><ref name=nrhp2>Kiefer, et al., p. 132.</ref> On its base, Taft inscribed the north side with his signature; the south side is inscribed with ''Am. Art Bronze Foundry J. Bercham -Chicago-''.<ref name=nrhp1/> The monument falls within [[Art Nouveau|Art Nouveau style]].<ref name=nrhp3/>
''Eternal Silence'' has been called "eerie",<ref name=nrhp1>{{harvcoltxt|Kiefer|Achilles|Vogel|2000|pp=68–69}}</ref> "somber",<ref name=nrhp1/> "grim-looking",<ref name=cutler>{{cite book |last=Cutler |first=Irving |title=Chicago: Metropolis of the Mid-Continent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TbLkURD3SesC&dq=eternal+silence+taft&pg=PA285 |publisher=SIU Press |year=2006|page=285 |isbn=0809327023}}</ref> "mysterious",<ref name=aia>{{cite book |last=Sinkevitch |first=Alice |title=AIA Guide to Chicago |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQE21zTaju8C&dq=eternal+silence+taft&pg=PA227 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |year=2004 |page=227 |isbn=0156029081}}</ref> and "haunting".<ref name=aia/> The [[bronze]] figure, based on traditional depictions of the [[Grim Reaper]], is set against a [[black granite]] base and stands {{convert|10|ft}} tall upon that base.<ref name=nrhp1/> The black granite provides contrast for the bronze statue, which is heavily [[oxidized]] because of its age.<ref name=nrhp1/><ref name=cohn/> The cemetery used to shine the statue to return its true bronze patina but received many complaints and requests to return it to its more dramatic green sheen; the cemetery now keeps the statue in its preferred oxidized state. The hooded figure was influenced by Taft's own "ideas on death and silence".<ref name=nrhp3/> Historically speaking, the figure in ''Eternal Silence'' is related to the sculpted funeral procession around the [[Tomb of Philip the Bold]] in [[Dijon, France]] and the [[Adams Memorial (Saint-Gaudens)|Adams Memorial]] by [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=nrhp3/> The statue has been noted as Graceland Cemetery's most "unforgettable" monument.<ref name=bielski>{{cite book |last=Bielski |first=Ursula |title=Creepy Chicago: A Ghosthunter's Tale of the City's Scariest Sites |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HpJaL7t7IyIC&dq=eternal+silence+taft&pg=PA93 |publisher=Lake Claremont Press |year=2003 |page=93 |isbn=1893121151}}</ref><ref name=nrhp1/><ref name=cohn>{{cite book |last=Cohn |first=Scottie |title=Chicago Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPwnZwxmFW8C&dq=eternal+silence+taft&pg=PA86 |publisher=[[Globe Pequot]] |year=2011 |pages=86–87 |isbn=978-0762759842}}</ref> The monument was designed by Taft and cast by Jules Bercham.<ref name=nrhp2>{{harvcoltxt|Kiefer|Achilles|Vogel|2000|p=132}}</ref> On its base, Taft inscribed the north side with his signature; the south side is inscribed with ''Am. Art Bronze Foundry J. Bercham -Chicago-''.<ref name=nrhp1/> The monument falls within [[Art Nouveau|Art Nouveau style]].<ref name=nrhp3/>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 53: Line 53:


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
*{{cite web |last1=Kiefer |first1=Charles D. |last2=Achilles |first2=Rolf |last3=Vogel |first3=Neil A. |url=http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/PDFs/205573.pdf |title=Graceland Cemetery |website=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, HAARGIS Database |publisher=[[Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]] |date=June 18, 2000 |access-date=October 8, 2011}}
*{{cite web |last1=Kiefer |first1=Charles D. |last2=Achilles |first2=Rolf |last3=Vogel |first3=Neil A. |url=http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/PDFs/205573.pdf |title=Graceland Cemetery |website=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, HAARGIS Database |publisher=[[Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]] |date=June 18, 2000 |access-date=October 8, 2011 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120094545/http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/PDFs/205573.pdf |url-status=dead }}


{{Lorado Taft}}
{{Lorado Taft}}

Latest revision as of 12:05, 4 April 2024

Dexter Graves Monument
According to folklore looking into the eyes of the statue will give the viewer a vision of their own death.
Eternal Silence (sculpture) is located in Chicago metropolitan area
Eternal Silence (sculpture)
Eternal Silence (sculpture) is located in Illinois
Eternal Silence (sculpture)
Eternal Silence (sculpture) is located in the United States
Eternal Silence (sculpture)
LocationChicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States
Built1909
Built byJules Bercham
SculptorLorado Taft
Architectural styleArt Nouveau
Part ofGraceland Cemetery (ID00001628)
Added to NRHPJanuary 18, 2001

Eternal Silence, alternatively known as the Dexter Graves Monument or the Statue of Death,[1] is a monument in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery and features a bronze sculpture of a hooded and draped figure set upon, and backdropped by, black granite. It was created by American sculptor Lorado Taft in 1909.

History

[edit]

The monument commemorates Dexter Graves, who in 1831 led a group of thirteen families from Ohio to settle in Chicago.[2] Graves died in 1844, 75 years before the statue's creation and 16 years before Graceland Cemetery was founded. His body was presumably relocated from its original resting place at the old City Cemetery (the present site of Lincoln Park).[3] The will of Graves' son Henry, who died in 1907, provided $250,000[a] in funds for the monument and another $40,000[b] intended to commemorate Henry's favorite race horse, Ike Cook. The Cook monument was to stand alongside a drinking fountain for horses in Washington Park.[3] The horse monument never materialized, despite the construction of a model; instead, in 1920, another Taft piece, Fountain of Time, was built in its place and features a hooded figure similar to the one in Eternal Silence.[3]

Ada Bartlett Taft's 1946 book Lorado Taft; Sculptor and Citizen lists Eternal Silence as one of the artist's most important works.[5] Images of Eternal Silence have been used in other artworks, including those by Claes Oldenburg.[5] One folktale claims that looking into the eyes of the statue's hooded figure causes the viewer to see a vision of his or her own death.[1]

Design

[edit]
Hooded bronze figure

Eternal Silence has been called "eerie",[6] "somber",[6] "grim-looking",[7] "mysterious",[8] and "haunting".[8] The bronze figure, based on traditional depictions of the Grim Reaper, is set against a black granite base and stands 10 feet (3.0 m) tall upon that base.[6] The black granite provides contrast for the bronze statue, which is heavily oxidized because of its age.[6][9] The cemetery used to shine the statue to return its true bronze patina but received many complaints and requests to return it to its more dramatic green sheen; the cemetery now keeps the statue in its preferred oxidized state. The hooded figure was influenced by Taft's own "ideas on death and silence".[5] Historically speaking, the figure in Eternal Silence is related to the sculpted funeral procession around the Tomb of Philip the Bold in Dijon, France and the Adams Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Washington, D.C.[5] The statue has been noted as Graceland Cemetery's most "unforgettable" monument.[1][6][9] The monument was designed by Taft and cast by Jules Bercham.[10] On its base, Taft inscribed the north side with his signature; the south side is inscribed with Am. Art Bronze Foundry J. Bercham -Chicago-.[6] The monument falls within Art Nouveau style.[5]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ equivalent to $8,175,000 in 2023[4]
  2. ^ equivalent to $1,308,000 in 2023[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Bielski, Ursula (2003). Creepy Chicago: A Ghosthunter's Tale of the City's Scariest Sites. Lake Claremont Press. p. 93. ISBN 1893121151.
  2. ^ Lanctot, Barbara (1992). A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery: A Chicago Architecture Foundation Walking Tour. Chicago, IL: Chicago Architecture Foundation. p. 6.
  3. ^ a b c "The Strange History of "Eternal Silence," Graceland's "Statue of Death"". Mysterious Chicago Tours. December 10, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  4. ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e Kiefer, Achilles & Vogel (2000:146–147)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Kiefer, Achilles & Vogel (2000:68–69)
  7. ^ Cutler, Irving (2006). Chicago: Metropolis of the Mid-Continent. SIU Press. p. 285. ISBN 0809327023.
  8. ^ a b Sinkevitch, Alice (2004). AIA Guide to Chicago. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 227. ISBN 0156029081.
  9. ^ a b Cohn, Scottie (2011). Chicago Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff. Globe Pequot. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0762759842.
  10. ^ Kiefer, Achilles & Vogel (2000:132)

Bibliography

[edit]
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