A Beautiful Way to Go

Discover the art, architecture, and famous “residents” of this national landmark on the 175th anniversary of its creation.

Predating both Central Park and Prospect Park, Green-Wood Cemetery was one of the most important public green spaces in 19th-century America. A Beautiful Way to Go: New York’s Green-Wood Cemetery marks the 175th anniversary of this significant national landmark, exploring how its carefully constructed bucolic landscape reflected changing notions not only of death but of nature, and how Green-wood helped to inaugurate a rising trend of so-called rural cemeteries and public parks. Its grounds are a museum of monuments and statuary by leading architects and artists – including Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Richard Upjohn, and Warren & Wetmore, designers of Grand Central Terminal - working in a wide range of styles. Comprising equal parts architectural, art, social, and cultural histories, the exhibition features original artifacts, sculptures, drawings, and Hudson River School paintings; historic documents; and photographs, including specially commissioned color images by Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao.