Eternal Silence

Bronze sculpture by Lorado Taft (1909) at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, one of the most famous cemetery figures in the US.

Eternal Silence is one of the most striking cemetery sculptures in the United States. American sculptor Lorado Taft created this larger-than-life bronze figure in 1909 as a grave monument for Dexter Graves at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. The shrouded, faceless figure rises from black granite blocks, appearing to absorb every question about life and death without offering an answer — which is why it also goes by the name "Statue of Death". The monument is one of the most photographed objects at Graceland Cemetery, one of the most significant garden cemeteries in North America, where many prominent Chicagoans have also found their final resting place.