The haunting yet beautiful monument, “Death and the Sculptor” in Forest Hills Cemetery is quite possibly my favorite piece of sculptural art and a gentle reminder to not take life for granted. Commissioned in 1889 and dedicated in 1893, the bronze monument was designed by Daniel Chester French, a sculptor best known for his 1920 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, to memorialize sculptor, Martin Milmore and his brother Joseph, a stone-cutter. Rather than portraying death as frightening or violent, French depicts a serene winged figure gently staying the hand of a young sculptor at work, suggesting a peaceful transition from earthly labor to eternal rest. The sculpture’s quiet grace, emotional depth, and masterful craftsmanship have made it a landmark of American memorial art, inviting visitors to reflect on mortality, creativity, and the enduring power of beauty in the face of loss. To tie the work to its subjects, the young sculptor is carving a Sphynx, modeled after the 1873 sculpture the brothers worked on together that is located at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. A marble version of the work can also be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, carved in 1917 by the Piccirilli Brothers.
Buildings of New England 