Gaff Memorial
artwork by Jules Déchin
Gaff Memorial is a public artwork by French artist Jules Déchin, located at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., United States. Gaff Memorial was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. This memorial serves as the burial site of Thomas Trueman Gaff.
Description
The Gaff Memorial shows a male figure, made of bronze, seated on a tomb. He wears a loosely draped long hooded robe and raises his proper left hand over his head as he gazes upwards. The sculpture sits upon a long, flat granite base with an inscription plaque on the top, the burial of Thomas Trueman Gaff.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Gaff Memorial” as artwork by Jules Déchin. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as artwork by Jules Déchin. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5577249. Authority coordinates are 38.948, -77.009. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Gaff Memorial”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Gaff Memorial primary sources, Gaff Memorial archive and Gaff research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gaff Memorial”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Gaff Memorial” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.