Mausoleum Art Exhibition Brings Back Figures of The Gilded Age

One of the most famous cemeteries in the country is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a spectacular art party. As reported by the New York Times, the Bronx’s Woodlawn Cemetery is exhibiting its Gilded Age tombs at Columbia University’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, starting on Sept. 3: “Sylvan Cemetery: Architecture, Art and Landscape at Woodlawn.”

The exhibit features mausoleum artwork, furniture, stained glass, ironwork, and sculptures from the Gilded Age period (1870s to 1900). Curators of the exhibition took extra steps contextualize the pieces, including researching tomb designers and tomb inhabitants and reaching out to descendants of the deceased individuals entombed at Woodlawn.

A Treasure Trove of Art

Exhibition curator Susan Olsen told the New York Times that she intended to connect living descendants with their ancestors in order to alert them of the mausoleum art pieces requiring their care and attention. She reveled in the surprising discoveries fostered by her outreach, saying:

“The Metz family, for instance, had no idea that theirs was done by Marie Zimmermann, an extremely important Arts and Crafts designer. That’s the best part of my job, telling people stories like that and hearing their stories. It’s amazing how many of the families here are related to each other, too, how much shared DNA there is at Woodlawn.”

Woodlawn Cemetery’s exhibit unearthed a veritable treasure trove of art pieces from architects, artisans, and landscape designers. According to Olsen, exhibit art pieces include 13 works by McKim, Mead & White, 11 Guastavinos, and work by several top landscape designers, who are incidentally women. Features such as a mausoleum’s Tiffany windows mark Gilded Age glamor and style.

Art for the Ages

Perhaps the most surprising part of Olsen’s interview was a point made about mausoleum art belonging to the public monument: “You can’t just put the bust of Grandpa’s head on eBay, or take out the Tiffany windows. If the heirs did decide to sell, we would go to court to stop them and we would win.”

It certainly causes one to consider the nature of art and to whom it belongs. Is mausoleum art meant for families to enjoy in private, or does it in at least some sense belong to the public as educational artifacts? Perhaps it even makes the case for building your family mausoleum on private property instead of at a public cemetery. In any case, what’s clear from Woodlawn’s exhibit is our collective admiration for mausoleum architecture and art and how it continues to profoundly connect us to the past we all too soon forget in our digital age.

As beautiful and lasting monuments to the dead, private mausoleums are an artistic expression of the remarkable lives they are meant to commemorate. Ready to make your mark on the ages? The expert designers and craftsmen at Forever Legacy carry out your vision with the highest regard for quality. Request a Consultation Now.