Eternal Silence facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Dexter Graves Monument
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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According to folklore looking into the eyes of the statue will give the viewer a vision of their own death.
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| Location | Uptown, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States |
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| Built | 1909 |
| Built by | Jules Bercham |
| Sculptor | Lorado Taft |
| Architectural style | Art Nouveau |
| Part of | Graceland Cemetery (ID00001628) |
| Added to NRHP | January 18, 2001 |
Eternal Silence is a monument in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery. It is also known as the Dexter Graves Monument or the Statue of Death. The statue is a bronze sculpture set on and backdropped by black granite. It was created by American sculptor Lorado Taft in 1909.
History
Eternal Silence is a monument in Graceland Cemetery to Dexter Graves. Graves led a group of thirteen families who moved to Chicago from Ohio in 1831. He died in 1844, and the monument was created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1909. Taft's son, Henry Graves, asked him to create it. In Ada Bartlett Taft's 1946 Lorado Taft; Sculptor and Citizen, it was listed as one of his most important works. Images of Eternal Silence have been used in other artworks, including works by Claes Oldenburg. One folktale claims that if someone looks into the eyes of Eternal Silence's hooded figure, the viewer would be shown his or her own death.
- Kiefer, Charles D., Achilles, Rolf, and Vogel, Neil A. "Graceland Cemetery" (pdf), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, June 18, 2000, accessed October 8, 2011.
