"Solomon" is my name for the cherub face I've used informally as a logo for the dig. The name comes from Solomon Brewer, the gravestone carver who created the design the logo is based on. Seen on the grave of Robert Craft, who died in 1793, it features a winged cherub face with a crown.Laurie used this design in the sign for the cemetery restoration and archaeological excavation:
This is another Solomon Brewer stone from the cemetery, with a slightly different crown.
We have seen this same design featured on stones in many different cemeteries, and I think it's fair to guess that all or most were created by Solomon Brewer (or at least his workshop). The University of Chicago has an online gallery of Solomon Brewer's work in New York. It turns out that many of the cherubs that Laurie and I admired in the Old Dutch Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow are Brewer's, including:
The triple stone of Cornelius, Jacob, and Winey Couenhoven, 1794. For a much clearer image (taken before the stone sunk into the ground), see the University of Chicago Gallery.
The stone of Ann Couenhoven, 1797.
Perhaps the most impressive Solomon Brewer stone is the Hezekiah and Mary Day stone in West Springfield, Massachusetts. It's not only unlike any other Solomon Brewer stone - it's unlike any other stone I've ever seen, with elaborate portraits of the husband and wife facing one another.
I like Brewer's simple, moon-face cherub. That is why I chose it when I painted the sign for the restoration. However, I made my cherub smile…which is not from any of his work, just "artist's choice". That is because even though the cherubs on the gravestones are sad, presumably about death, the restoration and dig are efforts happily undertaken by us and our wonderful team of friends! LK
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