Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn The Art of Memory: Monuments Through Time | Page 23
New Fundraising Initiative for the
Significant Monument Collection
at Mount Auburn Cemetery
By Jenny Gilbert, Senior Gifts Officer
With a deep commitment to maintaining and preserving Mount
Auburn’s monuments and structures, the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery
has launched a multi-year Significant Monument Collection fundraising
initiative focused on 30 of the Cemetery’s memorials. While only a small
part of the Cemetery’s cultural landscape, these rare and unique works of
commemorative art have historical associations of national importance,
represent the work of a significant artist or designer, or relate to notable
individuals buried at the Cemetery. Although Mount Auburn has funds for
general maintenance of its grounds and individual lots, resources to cover
the considerable costs of critical conservation projects are in need. After
years of exposure to the harsh New England climate, these monuments —
representing nearly two centuries of vernacular funerary art in this country
— are in urgent need of professional care and documentation before they
are lost forever.
The project includes:
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Research and Digitization of the Cemetery’s records (monument
plans and drawings; correspondence with architects, stone carvers, and
monument designers; historic photographs; and work orders) will allow
staff and scholars to have access to these primary source materials for
the first time.
Cataloging and Condition Assessments will include photographic
documentation and a detailed physical description of each monument.
Completed by a professional conservator, the condition assessments will
recommend both short- and long-term care for the monuments and
inform future preservation planning. These reports will create a critical
baseline to proceed with conservation, and lay the groundwork for
Cemetery staff to budget and raise funds for eventual treatment.
Interpretative Materials based on the research conducted during the
project will be made available to the public through online exhibitions
and print publications.
The Friends of Mount Auburn is particularly concerned with raising funds
to conserve two of the Cemetery’s most threatened marble monuments: the
Amos Binney Monument by Thomas Crawford, designated an “American
Treasure” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (see page 4); and the
Magoun monument, a beloved sculpture commemorating Medford ship-
builder Thatcher Magoun. Mount Auburn’s Curator of Historical Collections
Meg L. Winslow explains, “If left unattended, these two works of art will
continue to erode dramatically, their relief carvings will deteriorate, and their
inscriptions will become illegible. The Significant Monument Collection
project will enable Mount Auburn to carry out the stewardship of these
extraordinary monuments and will help ensure that the Cemetery remains
a treasure among National Historic Sites and a model of preservation in this
country.”
For more information on how you can support this project, contact Jane
Carroll, Vice President of Development at 617-607-1919 or
[email protected]
Fall 2013 | 21