Getting Some Clarity

My main focus this fall has been the initiation of our monument survey project. The Trust received a prestigious grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to begin cataloging many of Forest Hills’ most at-risk 19th century marble monuments. While there isn’t much we can do to avoid the inevitable deterioration of these once-bright-white, soft, lustrous marble stones, documenting the form, design, and inscriptions will provide an important historical record for current and future scholars. In the photo above, taken on a recent sunny day, volunteers Ros and Elinor are busy transcribing inscriptions, while NEA Preservation Intern Leo Greene holds a mirror to reflect some additional light onto the inscription Ros is working on. (This technique helps to decipher badly eroded inscriptions.)

There are other projects associated with the grant that anyone with an interest and time to devote can get involved in. (Students might be able to get school credit.) For more details contact me at e_ciregna@foresthillstrust.org or check out our website. I’d love to hear from you!

Fall Foliage at Forest Hills

A friend and fellow photographer who lives in Dedham, MA, joined me for a photo expedition to Forest Hills on October 11. The day was clear and cool, with a beautiful blue sky and brilliant fall foliage not quite at peak . . . but close. You can view some of my foliage photos by clicking here. Comments are welcome!

Cemetery in Late September

It rained for most of this weekend, but there was a break in the showers on Saturday morning (Sept. 27), so I headed out the door for a couple of hours of photo shooting at the cemetery. It was a little foggy and drizzly, and the light was diffuse, which made for great color saturation. A few of the leaves were turning or falling, but most of the summer's foliage was still on the bushes and trees. You can see photos from my expedition here.

What's an Allegorical Figure?

On every single one of my tours of Victorian sculpture at Forest Hills, I point out the allegorical figures that dot the landscape, as these are some of our loveliest works of art.

An “allegorical figure” is a figural sculpture (almost always a woman) that embodies or represents an abstract concept. These statues, therefore, are a sort of code, or message conveying an idea or an emotion. They also have special descriptive names.

At Forest Hills we have some very fine allegorical figures. One of the types that appears most often is the figure known as “Hope.” Hope is recognizable because of the anchor that always appears next to her. Why an anchor? That’s a complicated question, but a very short answer is that the anchor was an early Christian symbol, a sort of abstracted cross that became linked to steadfastness, hope, and piety. (For one on-line explanation of anchors, check out this handy reference site: www.bookrags.com.) Some examples of Hope figures at Forest Hills include the Nathaniel Tucker monument on Linden Avenue (above), and the Samuel C. Reed monument on Consecration Avenue.

Another very popular allegorical figure is that of “Grief.” This enrobed woman usually leans on one elbow on a pedestal next to her, bent over in mourning. Her posture expresses her sadness and despair. Often next to her is a funerary urn, which refers to cremation and general loss. Fine examples of Grief figures at Forest Hills include the Robbins monument on Warren Avenue (above).

For more examples of these and other types of monuments, see my Scholar’s Tour on the Trust's website.

Should scrap metal yards be held accountable?

The theft of three bronze sculptures here at Forest Hills prompted a great editorial calling for new reporting regulations for scrap metal yards. These regulations would reduce the theft of objects for the value of materials and is urgently needed as prices for metals soar. This type of theft is particularly devastating when sculpture is the target. Once melted down, there is no possibility of recovering the work; it has been destroyed for a fraction of its price as artwork and in vicious disregard for craftsmanship, meaning, and unique beauty. The Globe put it well:

It's heartbreaking to learn that bronze sculptures in the Forest Hills Cemetery have been stolen from their eternal homes, possibly to be sold off for scrap metal. The beauty and serenity of the 19th century garden cemetery, enhanced by these contemporary sculptures, cannot be valued in price per ton.

Public art all over Boston is at risk, so if you agree, contact your state legislators. Police investigation turned up the information that our sculpture was offered to one scrap yard that refused to take it, suspecting theft. But that doesn't mean the thieves didn't locate a dealer willing to look the other way.

The media has been very helpful covering the story of the theft of three contemporary bronze sculptures from Forest Hills and publicizing the reward for information leading to their regurn: The Bulletin, The JP Gazette, The The Boston Globe, WBUR 90.9 radio, and Fox News.

Tragedy at Forest Hills: Sculpture Stolen

Many people have already heard the devastating news about the theft of several works of contemporary sculpture from Forest Hills this August. The works stolen were: Garden's Edge (known fondly as the rabbit by the lake) by Tim Cherry; Seated Ceres a charming goddess of the harvest by Kahlil Gibran; and Bark Balls by Carol Spack, a group of three spheres suggestive of tree spirits and sited under the landmark weeping beech near the cemetery's main entrance. All of these works were made of bronze; we believe they were stolen for the value of their materials and sold to a scrap yard to be melted down.

This is a terrible loss for the artists, Forest Hills and the greater Boston community. We have received many calls from visitors who loved these works – familiar favorites from strolling in these beautiful grounds. Both Bark Balls and Garden's Edge were featured in the Trust's Family Guide, and particularly loved by children.

We have posted a $3,000 reward for information leading to recovery but are not optimistic. Because of the way it was fabricated, Seated Ceres is irreplaceable. Sadly, Kahlil Gibran passed away this year and the sculpture was part of his legacy; he is buried at Forest Hills. We are exploring the possibility of commissioning new versions of the other two works. The Cemetery has upgraded its security procedures and will install security cameras at the two main entrances. Fearing more thefts, we have decided to remove the most vulnerable small bronze pieces remaining on the Sculpture Path.

Alert visitors remain one of the most important guardians we have for the many treasures here. If you are ever at Forest Hills and see anything suspicious, do not hesitate to report it.

If you are interested in supporting the replacement of these works, please contact Nini Colmore, our Director of Development, at 617.524.0128. We would be grateful for your help.

A Carpenter Poem

On September 14th at 2 pm, Jamaica Plain's Carpenter Poets are performing in Forsyth Chapel, which one of the poet referred to as "a carpenter's dream." In reading about the poets and their work, I came across this wonderful poem by Bill Thibodeau, entitled "Carpenter's Answer." Enjoy.

Carpenter's Answer

As a boy I would sit in a tree by a stream
Pretending the cherries were stars in my dream
And I was the Master on far-away seas
On the deck of my ship in a tropic night breeze.
But there came a day when that tree felt the axe,
And there was that stream that my youth could not pass.
I gave up the sea for the family trade
The hammer and nail - the bit and the blade.
My father bequeathed me his knowledge and name
He was his own man - would I be the same?
What shall I make now I'm given these tools-
Shall I build me a bridge - with hammer and rule?
Will I then cross that stream to the opposite side-
Fording stream after stream with the sun as my guide?
Will I make that far seaport while day is still young
Will I be aboard when the lanterns are hung?
Or will I search in these fields for my foundation stone
Would contentment be found in what others have known?
Would I build me a house bound by water and wood
Mortised and tenoned as post and beam should?
Plaster and lathe and colonial shakes
Yellow pine floors - cut nailed to the face?
Would I find me a woman whom I could lay claim to
And then build us a child that we'd pin our name to?
Could I build us a hope and a dream wrought in rhyme
And set it to music in the happiest time
Then dance to that tune with my woman and son
In my heart, in my arms, once the deed had been done?
Would I build me a gate to my white picket yard-
With a swing on a limb and Collie on guard?
Would the universe bloom with my cherry tree
For my son in the way that it once did for me?
And once I've carved out a world from this spherical stone
Which spins in the ether - its substance unknown
Can I live with the thought that I never will touch
What is sacred to drifters and dreamers and such?
And would a day ever pass - that I would not ache
For the sea - once I'd built my home on this lake?
Then I see that boy on a swing - and my wife...
I take a deep breath and say: "This is my life."


Taken from the collection Break Time by the Carpenter Poets of Jamaica Plain (2007) edited by Joseph Bergin.