Five renowned sculptors have been chosen to participate in a competition to recreate the "Angel of Music," an intricate sculpture that once graced the gravesite of legendary 19th century American composer and pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829 -1869).  The angel disappeared under unknown circumstances from Brooklyn's Historic Green-Wood Cemetery more than 50 years ago.  

The initiative, Saved in Time: The Gottschalk Project, is administered by the Green-Wood Historic Fund, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that conserves and restores the cemetery's endangered monuments.

Total costs for the Gottschalk Project will be approximately $200,000.00.  Green-Wood's Historic Fund launched a major fundraising campaign to support the project.  

Existing photos of the Gottschalk monument show a white marble angel approximately 4'10" atop a 6 ½-foot high marble pedestal.  The angel's left hand held a tablet bearing the titles of six of Gottschalk's most famous compositions, while a trumpet was tucked beneath the arm.  Her right hand was extended in a gesture suggestive of leading an orchestra.  At her feet was a classical lyre.  

A New Orleans native, Gottschalk was a child prodigy and by the 1860s had established himself as the foremost pianist in America.  His most acclaimed works include A Night in the Tropics, Bamboula and Le Bananier.

Established in 1838, Green-Wood Cemetery is built on 478-acres and is home to thousands of monuments, many designed by world renowned sculptors.  Among the nearly 600,000 souls interred here are Leonard Bernstein, Horace Greeley, FAO Schwartz, Samuel Morse, Boss Tweed, Albert Anastasia and more than 3,000 veterans of the Civil War.  

The cemetery was named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2006.

To support Saved in Time: The Gottschalk Project with a tax deductible contribution visit www.greenwood.com/donate, or for more information, visit www.green-wood.com.