Design for a Monument in Memory of George B. Doane c. 1843

This is Alpheus Cary’s “Design for a Monument in Memory of George B. Doane,” rendered on paper with graphite and watercolor. Though it’s just a sketch, consider what it would mean to realize this design in stone. The inscription would be cut by a skilled stone carver, letter by letter. The column would be extracted from a quarry, shaped by a mason, and transported to its site. The very idea of a stone monument carries a direct link to the labor required to produce it. Memorials like this are not just about the person they commemorate, but about the social structure that allowed them to be made. Who had the economic power to erect such a permanent marker, and who did not? We can appreciate Cary’s delicate drawing, while also reflecting on the social implications of this proposed monument and the many hands required to bring stone to life.