[1] Its full title bestowed by the creator was The Angel of Grief Weeping Over the Dismantled Altar of Life.
The statue's creation was documented in an 1896 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine: according to this account, his wife's death so devastated Story that he lost interest in sculpture, but was inspired to create the monument by his children, who recommended it as a means of memorializing the woman.
[3] Unlike the typical angelic grave art, "this dramatic life-size winged figure speaks more of the pain of those left behind" by appearing "collapsed, weeping and draped over the tomb".
[4] Story himself wrote that "It represents the angel of Grief, in utter abandonment, throwing herself with drooping wings and hidden face over a funeral altar.
"[5] Prominent replicas of the Angel of Grief sculpture include the Henry Lathrop monument, located in the Stanford University Arboretum.