Monument Display Room, 1888 1935 - 1942

Editor: This watercolor drawing, "Monument Display Room, 1888," was created between 1935 and 1942 by Perkins Harnly. It’s like a snapshot of a showroom filled with tombstones! The soft colors and detailed rendering create a surprisingly serene mood despite the subject matter. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: What immediately grabs me is the complex relationship Harnly establishes between private grief and public display. Here we have these very personal objects—tombstones, each marking a unique life—arranged almost theatrically within this greenhouse-like space. How does the act of selling or exhibiting death impact its cultural significance? Editor: So, the commercial aspect is key. I hadn’t considered that so directly. Curator: Exactly. Think about the mid-20th century. Memorialization was undergoing significant changes, moving towards more standardized and public forms. This image, created several decades later, almost archives an earlier moment where grief was a very visible commodity, almost tailored to individual taste. Do you notice how the perspective and interior setting isolate the monuments from nature itself? Editor: Yes, it’s all very controlled and artificial. Like death itself is being contained. Curator: Precisely! And the inclusion of what seem to be sales tags on some of the stones reinforces this controlled narrative, reducing mourning to an act of consumption. I am interested in how this room itself—a constructed space for exhibiting grief—became a cultural phenomenon that influenced collective mourning rituals. It transforms a traditionally sacred concept of individual memory into manufactured items ready to purchase. Editor: I see it now, viewing this drawing through the lens of its cultural commentary makes the artist's decision-making really pop. Curator: Indeed, Perkins Harnly prompts us to ask critical questions about how society mediates death and memorialization. It’s fascinating.