Omaha Exploration

The Black Angel statue is the translation of a recurring dream experienced by Ruth Anne Dodge. In her dream, an angel on a small boat appeared through the mist as Ruth stood on the rocky shore. The beautiful angel had one arm stretch out while the other held a vessel filled with water. The angel told her to drink in order to receive a promise and a blessing. Feeling as though she was not worthy, she refused to drink the first two nights. When she awoke, she relayed the dream to her daughters. She relented on the third night and finally took a drink of the water that she described as sparkling like millions of diamonds. Afterwards she said it was like she had been lifted into the Kingdom of Heaven and was born again. She passed away not long afterwards.

Her daughters who suffered the loss of their father Civil War General Grenville M. Dodge earlier the year described their mother as a spiritually minded woman who was a devoted and self-sacrificing wife and mother who had a lofty mind filled with good thoughts. When she didn’t accompany her husband on business trips, she enjoyed gardening, music, and reading. A passionate supporter of women’s suffrage, Ruth also helped found Council Bluffs first library.

To honor their mother, the daughters commissioned famed sculptor Daniel Chester French to create a memorial based on the dream. Daniel, who was best known for the statue in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, hired Audrey Munson to serve as his model for this statue. Of Audrey, Daniel once said “There is a certain ethereal atmosphere about her that is rare. She has a decidedly expressive face, always changing. There is no monotony in her expression, and still the dominant feeling is that she is just such a type as many of the early painters would have selected for a Madonna.”

Over a 10-year period which started when Audrey was 18 years old, she appeared in four Broadway shows, four silent films and modeled primarily for sculptors including Daniel. She appeared in two dozen sculptures in New York City alone. Her sculptors appeared across the county as well as overseas. Her career came to an abrupt end in 1919 when Dr. Walter Wilkins, a much older man, became so obsessed with her that he murdered his own wife in an attempt to be with Audrey. Afterwards, Audrey and her mother fled to Canada only to be found and questioned by the police. Walter was later found guilty and sentenced to the electric chair. The publicity from the ordeal ruined her career at the age of 29. 

The publicity also caused much embarrassment for the Dodge daughters as they were planning to dedicate the statue in honor of their mother around the same time as the sensational story circulated in newspapers around the country. It was reported that they canceled the public event as a result. Instead, the statue just appeared out of nowhere in a plot of land that was dedicated by Fairview Cemetery at 623 N 2nd St in Council Bluffs, IA. The eight foot statue was later referred to as the Black Angel after years of weathering caused the cast bronze to darken significantly so that it appeared black. It has been the subject of many urban legends over the years. Some of these state that its eyes will follow you. Others claim that if you stare into her eyes or touch her at midnight, you will be cursed. Some even claim that she takes flight at night when no one is watching. 

Audrey, unable to find work attempted suicide in 1922 which ultimately led to her being admitted to an asylum years later. She would spend the next 64 years of her life at the institution. Over a 25-year period, she hadn’t had a single visitor until a half-niece discovered her in 1984 when she was 93. The one-time most famous woman in the world lived to 104 years old.

While Ruth and Grenville Dodge were laid to rest in a newly built mausoleum in Walnut Hill cemetery in 1916, Audrey Munson was buried in an unmarked grave eighty years later in New Haven Cemetery in NY. It wasn’t until 2016 that she would receive a simple headstone, 20 years after her death. 

Please feel free to comment to share your thoughts and memories.

Until next time, keep exploring!

Bonus Pics

Follow me on

• Facebook
• Instagram

Subscribe

Type your email address above to be notified when a new story is posted.