Bishop Potter’s Tomb

Bishop Horatio Potter (1802-1887) was the Cathedral’s Founder. Additionally he was the sixth Bishop of New York. In 1872 he secured the requisite permissions for the Cathedral. The architect for Bishop Potter’s tomb was Thomas Nash and the sculptor was Isidore Konti. The English Gothic style of the 15th century is apparent. Specifically, studies of the tomb of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey influenced the design.

The sarcophagus, the recumbent figure of the Bishop and the figures of the five ornamental niches of the front are of Indiana limestone. The figures, from left to right are Edward the Confessor, St. Remigius, St. John the Divine, St. Isidore and St. Theodosius. Bishop Horatio Potter’s tomb is located in the Ambulatory between the fourth and fifth great pillars opposite the entrance to St. Saviors Chapel. Its position directly behind the High Altar is that traditionally reserved for the Founder of a cathedral. The Bishop’s remains were transferred here from Poughkeepsie on St. John’s Day in 1921.

Isidore Konti

Isidore Konti (July 9, 1862 – January 11, 1938) was a Vienna born sculptor. He entered the Imperial Academy in Vienna at age 16. In 1886 he won a scholarship to study in Rome for two years. Later upon returning to Austria, Konti worked as an architectural modeler. After moving to America and working on the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, he eventually moved to New York City. In New York he began working as an assistant to fellow Austrian expatriate Karl Bitter. Like many sculptors of that epoch Konti created architectural sculpture. His skills as a modeler kept him in much demand. Accordingly in 1906 The National Academy of Design elected him an Associate member and he became a full Academician in 1909. Konti died in Yonkers, New York.

Another Bishop Potter’s Tomb

In September 1883, his failing health forced Bishop Horatio Potter to ask for an assistant to relieve him of administrative tasks. As a result the Diocesan Convention elected Henry Codman Potter. Henry C. Potter was the nephew of Bishop Horatio Potter and at the time was rector of Grace Church, New York.

After Horatio Potter obtained the charter for the cathedral, nothing more was done until the episcopate of his nephew. When Henry Potter became assistant bishop, he convened the Trustees to address the property issue. Earlier a board of trustees was convened to purchase property below Central Park. Several donors were secured but after the Panic of 1873, they could no longer contribute. This time, in 1887, they chose a site in Morningside Heights, the highest ground in Manhattan. On December 27, 1892 he laid the cornerstone. In the the winter of. 1896-1897 Bishop Henry Potter worked full time raising money for the Cathedral.

This Bishop Potter’s tomb is located in the Chapel of St. James. The tomb is carved from Siena marble. On the tomb is a recumbent figure of the Bishop in Seravezza marble. The finely carved figure was sculpted by Mr. James E. Fraser.

James Earle Fraser

James Earle Fraser (November 4, 1876 – October 11, 1953) was born in Winona, Minnesota. Fraser began carving figures early in life from pieces of limestone scavenged from a stone quarry close to his home. He attended classes at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago In 1890. He also studied at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts and the Academie Julian in Paris in the late 19th century.

His architectural sculpture and monuments adorn many locations in New York and Washington, D.C. As a result Fraser became one of the most prominent American sculptors of the first half of the 20th century. If you check your pocket change, you may be carrying around one of his sculptures. He designed the Indian Head Buffalo nickel.

• Among other sources we relied heavily of various editions of A Guide to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in the city of New York, by Edward Hagman Hall