"Sacred Ground combines a historical record of New Orleans burial customs, outstanding black and white architectural photography, and well-researched, poignant stories of love,
loss, and expressions of grief."
- Christopher E. Cenac Sr. MD, FACS, author of Hard Scrabble to Hallelujah, Volume 1: Legacies of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
"A master photographer and knowledgeable student of architectural history, Robert Brantley beautifully achieves his goal of bringing life into the subject called death."
- Hilary Somerville Irvin,
architectural historian
"Robert Brantley is one of the foremost architectural photographers in the South; his attention to form and function give the viewer a distinct impression of what it is like to move in and around these 'small cities.'"
- W. Brian Piper, PhD, Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation Fellow for Photography, New Orleans Museum of Art
Robert Brantley's images resonate within, compelling us to contemplate love, family, purpose, loss, profound sadness, beauty, decay, connection, continuity, and maybe - ultimately - the marker we will leave in this world."
- Sandra L. Stokes, former president of the Louisiana Landmarks Society
"Sacred Ground: New Orleans Cemeteries is a new look at the idiosyncratic burial grounds of our city. The well-known photographer channels his grief over the loss of his wife, then his mother, into these photos, and accompanies them with fascinating biographies of the inhabitants of those cities of the dead. You may never have heard of these 20 individuals before, but once you've read this book, you will never forget them."
- The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate
"This book of black and white photographs not only records the appearance of some of the more extraordinary tombs, but also includes 21 short biographies of some of the dead. Although the sculpture is not as finished or expressive as that in Italian cemeteries, some of the architectural constructions are as fantastic and lively in all manner of historical styles.
- The Art Newspaper (UK)
"New Orleans's distinctive above-ground cemeteries, necessitated by the high-water table, are one of a kind in the United States. The structures reflect centuries of changing architectural styles. Photographer Brantley (Henry Howard: Louisiana's Architect) presents 21 tomb photos accompanied by well-researched biographies of the deceased in "an attempt to make these New Orleans citizens live again, to be appreciated, and, most important, remembered."
- Library Journal
"Architectural photographer Robert S. Brantley has surveyed New Orleans's most notorious cemeteries for more than 40 years. Sacred Ground presents his sublime duotone photographs of the gravesites of 20 notable individuals (comprehensively detailed in each chapter index), organized by cemetery."
- The Architect's Newspaper
"I have a lot of cemetery books. I even have a lot of books about the cemeteries of New Orleans. This one is a worthy addition to my library because it goes off in a direction none of the others do. The photographer allowed himself to become obsessed by some of the grave monuments he photographed to the point that he wanted to know who these people were....If you don't have any books on the cemeteries of New Orleans, this is a good place to start. If you do, this will be a nice addition to your collection."
- Cemetery Travel
"The publication, released by Princeton Architectural Press, has an introduction signed by S. Frederick Starr and features a selection of images from the tombs of New Orleans's most visited cemeteries, including St. Louis, there are two, one in the French Quarter and another in the Garden District, Lafayette, which is one of the most visited in the city, as well as the Metairie and Canal Street cemeteries to name but a few of the forty or so that the city houses."
- Correspondence Magazine
09/01/2019
New Orleans's distinctive above-ground cemeteries, necessitated by the high-water table, are one of a kind in the United States. The structures reflect centuries of changing architectural styles. Photographer Brantley (Henry Howard: Louisiana's Architect) presents 21 tomb photos accompanied by well-researched biographies of the deceased in "an attempt to make these New Orleans citizens live again, to be appreciated, and, most important, remembered." The book's second part focuses on tombs, statuary, and engraved elements of note, exclusively in black-and-white photos. Visual presentation is Brantley's forte, and this volume only briefly delves into defining regional tomb characteristics in the introduction by historian F. Frederick Starr, which proves the most interesting reading. The variety of construction materials and the frequent state of advanced decay might resonate more through color photography than the limits imposed by black and white. Sally Asher's Stories from the St. Louis Cemeteries of New Orleans, although more limited in scope, executes the same concept with greater impact through lengthy historical context and the inclusion of color images. VERDICT A focused visual celebration of New Orleans's tomb architecture targeting well-informed readers or duotone photography aficionados.—Jessica Bushore, Xenia, OH
