The Angel of Death and the Sculptor from the Milmore Memorial

Daniel Chester French

1889–93, carved 1921–26 · Marble · The American Wing

The Milmore Memorial was a funerary commission from the family of the Boston sculptor Martin Milmore (1844–1883) to honor his memory and that of his brother, Joseph (1841–1886). The original bronze was erected in Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, in 1893; this marble version was commissioned by the Metropolitan. The memorial represents the moment when the Angel of Death interrupts the sculptor’s work, staying the chisel in his left hand. She also holds a bunch of poppies, symbolizing eternal sleep. The poetic content of the sculpture, as well as French’s successful integration of real and ideal elements, makes the memorial a profound statement on the creation of art and the cessation of life.

Artist

Daniel Chester French

Date

1889–93, carved 1921–26

Medium

Marble

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of a group of Museum trustees, 1926