Greeting “The Greeter”

An enthusiastic crowd gathered this past Saturday to witness the unveiling of “The Greeter,” sculptor John Coleman’s gift to Green-Wood in honor of George Catlin, the father of art of the American West. For background on this event, go here. And you may read another entry about Catlin that has appeared in this blog here. … Read more

Sculptor Thomas Crawford

Our Green-Wood Historic Fund Collections continue to grow. Green-Wood’s president, Rich Moylan, is always on the look-out for paintings or sculpture by Green-Wood’s permanent residents. He recently purchased this marble bust: And here is the inscription on its back: “T. Crawford” is of course Thomas Crawford (1814-1857), renowned 19th-century sculptor best-known for his sculpture, “Statue … Read more

“Kings County” With Kurt Andersen

Kurt Andersen has quite the resume. A novelist, he also has written for movies, television, and theater. He has been a columnist for The New York Times, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, and The New Yorker. He is the host of “Studio 360” on Public Radio International and WNYC. A co-founder and editor of Spy … Read more

How Many Flags Could A Woodchuck Chuck . . .

Well, this was too fascinating not to share with you. Theft is a problem everywhere–and that includes cemeteries. So, when American flags are put out at the graves of veterans–in a massive effort by Green-Wood volunteers, we put 4,000 out for Memorial Day 2011 to honor our Civil War veterans–one must pause, take a deep … Read more

A Good Fit

I have long been fascinated with Thomas William Sweeny (1820-1892), who is interred at Green-Wood in section 163, lot 14257. He was quite a character. Born in County Cork, Ireland, he came to New York City at the age of 12. Within a few years, he was working there as a printer and had joined … Read more

Chapel Slideshow

    Wordpress version with auto play and slow fade effect: [nggallery id=1]   Flickr version with unretouched photos for comparison:

At Long Last . . .

It was not business-as-usual in New York City on July 12, 1848. The remains of the officers of New York’s First Regiment who had died in the far-off Mexican-American War had finally come home. On that date, respects had been paid to them as their caskets were displayed in front of City Hall–the crowd had … Read more

Dr. Richard Isay Dead at 77

Dr. Richard Isay, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and gay-rights advocate, died of cancer on June 28 and was interred at Green-Wood yesterday. When Dr. Isay, as a young man, trained for his profession, homosexuality was looked upon as a disease to be cured. In fact, anyone who was openly gay was barred by the American Psychoanalytic Association … Read more