Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Connecting the Present with the Past | Page 7

sweet auburn | 2019 volume i
side. The memorial tells the deeply personal
story of Binney’s widow, who brought his
remains back to the United States from
Italy to be buried in her family lot at Mount
Auburn. Martin Milmore’s beautiful marble
angel, commissioned by the Coppenhagen
family in 1872 to convey the likeness of their
daughter Maria, expresses the melancholy
sentimentality and emotion typical of post–
Civil War American art. Similarly, the marble
cradle that commemorates young Mary
Wigglesworth, who died of diphtheria in 1888
before reaching her second birthday, evokes
the memory of the lost child: her mortal
presence is felt in the stone pillow within
the cradle, which appears to bear the fresh
imprint of a child’s head.
The Harnden Monument commemorates
the civic accomplishments of William
Frederick Harnden, who pioneered the idea
of express services in this country. After his
death, the Express Companies of America
raised money for the elaborate memorial,
designed by local carver Thomas A. Carew
in 1866. Laden with symbolism, this large
monument commemorates the success of the
Express Companies.
The 1847 memorial for Unitarian Minister
and social reformer William Ellery Channing
is significant both historically, because of
Rev. Channing’s importance to the history
of Massachusetts and the Unitarian Church,
and artistically, as a sculpture designed by an
important artist: Channing’s brother-in-law,
Washington Allston.
Most recently conserved, the monument
to Samuel Appleton on Cedar Hill—a
miniature Grecian Temple with low-relief
pilasters topped by Corinthian capitals—
exemplifies 1830s–40s classical inspiration of
Europe. (See article on pp. 6-7.)
Caring for our monument collection is
one of the Cemetery’s biggest challenges,
and relies on contributed support. The
preservation of these seven significant
monuments has been made possible by
individual donations, grants, and funds from
the Preservation Endowment Fund created
in honor of Cemetery President William C.
Clendaniel upon his retirement from Mount
Auburn in June 2008.
As we look ahead, our next priority will
be planning for conservation of the large
Whitney Monument in the Stone Farm area
of the Cemetery. Carved by the Italian artist
Nicola Cantalamessa-Papotti in 1883, the
monument commemorates lumber dealer
Charles Whitney. It depicts a magnificent
angel with outstretched wings atop a large
sarcophagus with a putto (a winged figure
of a child) at its feet. Significant losses and
dramatic erosion of the stone have made
this memorial a top priority. The Friends of
Mount Auburn Cemetery invites your help
in preserving one of these most significant
monuments on our grounds.
Laser cleaning, Harnden Monument,
© Daedalus, 2016.
Detail of marble wings,
Coppenhagen Monument, 2017.
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