The Works of Dionicio Rodrigues - Suitland, Maryland

Rodriguez began work on his six faux bois sculptures in the Cedar Hill Cemetery for patron William H. Harrison in 1936 and completed the project by 1938. Today in various stages of disrepair the pieces add an elegant weathered touch to the long established grounds. The pieces include two bridges, The Bridge of Life flanked by two Chinese pagoda lanterns, a Fallen Tree Footbridge, a Broken Tree Bench, and Annie Laurie wishing Chair, a Tiled Stone Bench and his largest piece, Tree Shelter. Again the pieces collectively show not only his masterful technique but also his humor and creativeness in manipulating the basic materials and techniques he employed to execute his works.


Cedar Hill Cemetery - Suitland

The Bridge of Life.

The Bridge of Life, showing some damage at ground level.

The Tiled Bench.

Fallen Tree Bench.

Detail of tiles and antiquated surface treatment.

Another view of the Fallen Tree Bench.

Annie Laurie Wishing Chair setting.

Annie Laurie Wishing Chair.

The story of the Annie Laurie Wishing Chair.

The ancient Scottish verse for the Annie Laurie Wishing Chair.

Tree Shelter, the largest of the six works in the cemetery.

One entrance with an iron gate.

A second entrance to the Tree Shelter with a planter.

The badly overgrown Fallen Tree Footbridge.

A portion of the footbridge overgrown by vegetation.

The bridge is now impassable due to overgrowth.

Only the stump chair and ground level stumps are viewble at the foot of the bridge.

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