Daniel Chester French gained international recognition with his creative conception of the Angel of Death in the Milmore Memorial, installed in Forest Hills Cemetery, Massachusetts (1891). The bronze relief shows a graceful angel calmly halting the work of a youthful sculptor. The sculpture stands out from other memorial sculptures of the time because of the distinctive figuration of the Angel of Death’s hooded form. French made numerous memorial sculptures before working on the Milmore, but had never before captured such an inventive and emotional scene. Although the shrouded figure in the Milmore Memorial seems visually unique and conceptually new, Daniel Chester French interpreted existing memorials to inspire his sculpture. His stylization of the figure was primarily influenced by Classical, Medieval Christian, and contemporary memorial sculptures. His combination of those three main styles meant that he could construct a new interpretation of the Angel that had not been used before.
About the presenterEileen Anita Donovan
Eileen Donovan recently completed her Master’s in Art History at American University following her undergraduate career at Providence College. While at American University she studied late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century American Art. She focused her thesis on Daniel Chester French’s innovative design of the Angel of Death memorial figure. She currently works in museum education in Maryland.