Kauffmann Memorial
Encyclopedia
Kauffmann Memorial is a public artwork by American
artist William Ordway Partridge
, located at Rock Creek Cemetery
in Washington, D.C.
, United States
. Kauffmann Memorial was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's
Save Outdoor Sculpture!
survey in 1993. The memorial is a tribute and grave for the former owner of the Washington Star
, Samuel Kauffmann.
wall exedra
with seven bronze relief panels on the curve and a curved bench. Upon the bench, a "classically-drapped" figure of a woman sits. She leans forward with her head bowed, looking down at a wreath made of asphodel
she is in the process of making. She wears a robe tied at the waist, sandals, and her hair is pulled back and curved around her face. This woman represents "Memory," and the bronze panels (15 in. x 26 in.) depicts scenes from Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Men," from As You Like It
. In front of the bench and wall is a large urn
that is placed on a low granite block.
The front of the urn has the inscription: KAUFFMANN
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist William Ordway Partridge
William Ordway Partridge
William Ordway Partridge was an American sculptor whose public commissions can be found in New York City and other locations....
, located at Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery — also Rock Creek Church Yard and Cemetery — is an cemetery with a natural rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE in Washington, D.C.'s Michigan Park neighborhood, near Washington's Petworth neighborhood...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Kauffmann Memorial was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
Save Outdoor Sculpture!
Save Outdoor Sculpture!
Save Outdoor Sculpture! is a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. By fostering awareness and appreciation, SOS! aims to advocate proper care of a nationwide public resource....
survey in 1993. The memorial is a tribute and grave for the former owner of the Washington Star
Washington Star
The Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...
, Samuel Kauffmann.
Description
The memorial features a curved graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
wall exedra
Exedra
In architecture, an exedra is a semicircular recess or plinth, often crowned by a semi-dome, which is sometimes set into a building's facade. The original Greek sense was applied to a room that opened onto a stoa, ringed with curved high-backed stone benches, a suitable place for a philosophical...
with seven bronze relief panels on the curve and a curved bench. Upon the bench, a "classically-drapped" figure of a woman sits. She leans forward with her head bowed, looking down at a wreath made of asphodel
Asphodel
Asphodelus ramosus, also known as Branched asphodel, is a perennial herb in the Asparagales order. Similar in appearance to Asphodelus albus and particularly Asphodelus cerasiferus, it may be distinguished by its highly branched stem and smaller fruits.In addition, at least on the Catalan coast...
she is in the process of making. She wears a robe tied at the waist, sandals, and her hair is pulled back and curved around her face. This woman represents "Memory," and the bronze panels (15 in. x 26 in.) depicts scenes from Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Men," from As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
. In front of the bench and wall is a large urn
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
that is placed on a low granite block.
The front of the urn has the inscription: KAUFFMANN
Condition
This sculpture was surveyed in 1994 for its condition and it was described that "treatment needed".Further Reading
- Stories in Stone: The Complete Guide to Cemetery Symbolism by Douglas Keister. Gibbs Smith, Layton, UT, 2004. ISBN 1-586853-21-X
- Washington, D.C. Off the Beaten Path, 4th Edition by William B. Whitman. GPP Travel, Guilford, CT, 2007. ISBN 0-762742-17-2