Five prominent Americans from the fields of art, academia, music and film have been named to a special Green-Wood Historic Fund selection committee, which will choose a new “Angel of Music” sculpture to grace the gravesite of legendary 19th century American composer and pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) in Historic Green-Wood Cemetery.
The panelists are:
• Arnold Lehman, director of the Brooklyn Museum
• Danny Simmons, abstract-expressionist painter and newly appointed interim chair of the New York State Council of the Arts
• S. Frederick Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute; research professor, Johns Hopkins University, noted jazz musician & Gottschalk biographer
• Thayer Tolles, curator, Department of American Paintings and Sculpture at The Metropolitan Museum
• John Turturro,Brooklyn-born actor, writer and director renowned for his performances in films including Barton Fink, Quiz Show, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Good Shepherd, and for his Emmy-award winning role in the television crime drama, Monk
In July, five renowned sculptors were chosen to participate in a competition to recreate the almost five-foot tall angel, which disappeared from Green-Wood under unknown circumstances more than 50 years ago.
The initiative, “Saved in Time: The Gottschalk Project,” is administered by the Green-Wood Historic Fund, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, which works to conserve and restore the cemetery’s endangered monuments.
The public is invited to view the small-scale models of the new designs currently on display at Green-Wood’s Executive Office, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.The panel is expected to announce its decision in November.
Total costs for the Gottschalk Project will be approximately $200,000.The Historic Fund has undertaken a major fundraising campaign to support the effort.
To learn more, go towww.greenwoodcemetery.org.
