Kauffmann Memorial is a public artwork by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
artist
William Ordway Partridge
William Ordway Partridge (April 11, 1861 – May 22, 1930) was an American sculptor, teacher and author. Among his best-known works are the Shakespeare Monument in Chicago, the equestrian statue of General Grant in Brooklyn, the ''Pietà'' at S ...
, located at
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stre ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Kauffmann Memorial was originally surveyed as part of the
Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture!
Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999.
History
Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...
survey in 1993. The memorial is a tribute and grave for
Samuel H. Kauffmann, the former owner of the ''
Washington Star
''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Sta ...
'' and president of the
Corcoran Gallery
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Overview
The Corcoran School of the Arts & Desi ...
.
Description
The memorial features a curved
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
wall
exedra
An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
with seven bronze relief panels on the curve and a curved bench. Upon the bench, a "classically-draped" figure of a woman sits. She leans forward with her head bowed, looking down at a wreath made of
asphodel she is in the process of making. She wears a robe tied at the waist, sandals, and her hair is pulled back and curved around her face. This woman represents "
Memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...
," and the bronze panels (15 in. x 26 in.) depicts scenes from Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Men," from ''
As You Like It''. In front of the bench and wall is a large
urn
An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
that is placed on a low granite block.
The front of the urn has the inscription: KAUFFMANN
Condition
This sculpture was surveyed in 1994 for its condition and it was described that "treatment needed".
Further reading
*''William Ordway Partridge's Kauffmann Memorial in Rock Creek Cemetery: Ideal Sculpture in Turn-of-the-century America'' by Elizabeth Wilson Harter. George Washington University, Washington, DC, 1993.
* ''Stories in Stone: The Complete Guide to Cemetery Symbolism'' by Douglas Keister. Gibbs Smith, Layton, UT, 2004.
* ''Washington, D.C. Off the Beaten Path, 4th Edition'' by William B. Whitman. GPP Travel, Guilford, CT, 2007.
References
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Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
Outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery
1897 sculptures
Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Sculptures of women in Washington, D.C.
1897 establishments in Washington, D.C.