Since it’s Uptown week here at the Reader, the new header is Lynn Haller‘s shot of Eternal Silence, the 1909 sculpture by Lorado Taft in Graceland Cemetery. It marks the grave of hotelier and land speculator Dexter Graves, who died in 1844; his son commissioned the monument. It’s a famous sculpture and thus difficult to photograph creatively, which is why I like this shot. The sculpture has a reputation for its striking morbidity, but shooting in black and white and, most important, shooting the face in light instead of shadow, gives the work a sense of peace not found in many depictions.
My favorite Taft piece is Fountain of Time, which underwent a substantial restoration a few years back. It’s a marvel, and worth the trip to Washington Park.