Angel Hunting in the 5 Boroughs (Brooklyn)

🔔 Every Time A Bell Rings…

A New York City angel gets stalked by me.

I had a list of angels I wanted to find in Green-Wood for this, the first of a series of posts documenting the best angel sculptures in New York City, starting in my home, Brooklyn. Where else? At Green-Wood Cemetery. And since this cemetery has me giddy upon arrival and can have me wandering about in a haphazard fashion, I drove in for the first time, stashing my car at the Hillside Mausoleum. I had a lot of ground to cover.

First, the Angel of Grief, based on the work of an American expatriate artist, William Wetmore Story, who was living in Italy in the late 19th century with his love and wife of 50 years. After her passing he was stricken terribly by grief, he sculpted tirelessly to create The Angel of Grief Weeping Over the Dismantled Altar of Life before dying soon thereafter. Though his was the first grave statute to feature a heartbreaking collapsed angel, it was copied frequently. Most striking to me are the dramatic futility of her wings. Below is the Angel of Grief on O’Donohue’s grave at Green-Wood.

Unlike Story’s sculpture, O’Donohue’s Angel of Grief holds a laurel wreath and her dress covers her feet. Here, monuments cast shadows upon her back in a fleeting stream of sunlight.

Not every angel is a masterpiece. But dilapidated angels certainly still make my cut. More so if they seem to lean in awkwardly.

Most of the grave angels are Guardian Angels, guiding souls upwards to the heavens. Angel depictions in aid of the departed goes back to the Middle Ages. After some reading of a book I cannot afford I.R.L., Angels & Angelology in the Middle Ages, I realize I must get myself to the Old World a.s.a.p. to wander about within O.G. angel. Italy. France. Etc.

The beautiful Valentine Angel, sculpted by great Italian artist Adolfo Apolloni, is thought to be the most beautiful in Green-Wood by many, though she is not my personal favorite. His work is exquisite… just look… Now I really have to get to Italy. Though he has more in Green-Wood I haven’t found, including Archangel Michael somewhere. How amazing to live in such a tremendous city that has the work of celebrated sculptors within its cemeteries.

This was my first time seeing her… and she is stunning. She is also called Resurrection Angel, as indicated by her triumphant arms and exultant expression. But it is those attributes that make her not my personal favorite. I like the sour-pussed, woeful angel who is lost in her hopelessness.

She brings new life. And I am skeptical.

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Clutch tight. And wear an intricate dress.

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So she is not an angel, but she lures me in just the same. Rose Merello Guarino, depicted here beautifully patina-ed, is the reason I first set foot into Green-Wood. So I couldn’t pass her and not say hello. This time, like others, she gave me the chills.

I tried to capture her in a way I hadn’t before. And that meant making her hands a vocal point. So life-like that I grazed them with mine. And though I’ve stepped on plenty of pedestals, I never ever touch the monuments. But I did today.

Up, up and away with you.

Another not-angel, but I loved her stunned expression.

This angel has her hands full. An angel bearing tools represents the different ways she assists you. Traditionally, angels are meant to be genderless for the most part. This one fits the bill.

A very interesting faded face.

An angel with a star on her head means the spirit is rising to heaven.

Another modest angel covering her bosom. What is the meaning of this hand position?

And here is my favorite. Italian roots, once again: The Monteverde Angel. The most sensual of the funerary angels, Green-Wood’s Maben angel is totally fierce… and most definitely not genderless. Though she is the duplicated often, this “Monteverde” Angel, the Maben Angel, has got the certain something. Perhaps it’s the curve of the small of her back… her displeased face… or how her trumpet is ready to be raised in judgment but she stands defiantly clutching herself instead?

She marks the grave of John Campbell Maben. Perhaps that is why she looks so annoyed. This blog post sums up his life up well. And that blog! “I wander around Green-Wood Cemetery. I take pictures. I Google stuff.” is the tag line. There are no recent posts, but what a great collection of info from someone who used to live across the street from Green-Wood.

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Monteverde’s Angel is also named Angel of the Resurrection. But I feel she is conveying something else all together. Resentment. Petulance. Like a regressive way of dealing with loss. This is what makes her one of my favorites. “#youhadonejob”–to comfort, to communicate, to bring new life– but you let your emotions make you just stand there defiantly. And there she is leaning upon the mantle with crossed legs. Gosh, her details are so rich with interpretation.

Then I went on a patina spree. Looking for all the bright turquoise I could find and taking full advantage of my car. As you will soon discover, I will travel far and wide for a patinaed monument.

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Pucker up. I was now on the more familiar side of the cemetery by the main entrance.

This male angel kind of sucked. I wanted to melt him down and make another statue. I just don’t get all excited about the male angels… unless they are Archangels. Perhaps it’s because traditionally men repress their emotions, bury them under pragmatism. One can assume that this makes their emotions far less alive and potent. That does not make for a good angel.

This is Green-Wood City. 💚

Angels in Brooklyn, right? So how about an angel sculpture that is not in a cemetery?! Yes, please. In fact, all of my Manhattan angels will be out of cemeteries. So let’s go to the south end of Prospect Park. There is a memorial to the Brooklynites who lost their lives in World War I. The seductive Angel of Death depicted in the sculpture beckons a “doughboy.” I am a bit confused by what is going on, but the angel is certainly spectacular. The soldier’s shirt being open reads more like the Village People to me.

Finally, an old favorite patinaed lady from the Fairway parking lot. No wings but she most certainly is an angel to many.