Login

Birthdays:

Dying days:

Events:

Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn’s Historic Green-Wood Cemetery today announced a new fundraising campaign to recreate “The Angel of Music” – a delicate and intricate sculpture that once marked the grave of legendary 19th century American composer- pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869). The angel disappeared from the gravesite under unknown circumstances more than 50 years ago.

The initiative, Saved in Time: The Gottschalk Project, is administered under the auspices of The Green-Wood Historic Fund, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

A New Orleans native, Gottschalk was recognized as a child prodigy by the local bourgeois establishment, and by the 1860s was considered the foremost pianist in the “New World.” Existing photos of his monument show a white marble angel approximately 4’10” high standing atop a 6 ½-foot tall marble pedestal and base. The angel’s left hand held a tablet inscribed with titles of Gottschalk’s most famous compositions. A heraldic trumpet was tucked beneath the angel’s arm. Her right hand extended in a gesture suggestive of leading an orchestra. At her feet was a classical lyre.

“Green-Wood Cemetery boasts thousands of artistically and architecturally significant sculptures, statues and monuments. But, with each passing year, caring for these historic treasures becomes a more daunting and expensive task,” said Richard J. Moylan, president of Green-Wood Cemetery.

“While mystery surrounds the angel’s disappearance, our ultimate goal is to restore this beautiful site for future generations and to once again honor this great musical virtuoso with a new statue that captures the character and spirit of the original,” Moylan added.

The Historic Fund is currently reviewing design submissions from sculptors around the country. Three finalists will be announced in late June. The winning design will be unveiled in October 2009. Mr. Moylan estimated total costs for the Gottschalk Project will be approximately $200,000.00.

Established in 1838, Green-Wood Cemetery was declared a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior in 2006. The 478-acre cemetery is home to thousands of monuments, many designed by world renowned turn of the century sculptors. Among the nearly 600,000 souls interred there are, Leonard Bernstein, Horace Greeley, FAO Schwartz, Samuel Morse, Boss Tweed, and more than 3,000 veterans of the Civil War – both North and South.

To support the Gottschalk Project with a tax deductible contribution, or for more information visit www.green-wood.com.

[Source: J. Salter / www.green-wood.com]