1871–1938
Mount Pleasant Cemetery
Plot O Lot 18
One of Mount Pleasant Cemetery’s most visually striking memorials is the Lionel Cutten Monument, showcasing a striking blend of artistry and emotion. Commissioned by Lionel Forbes Cutten, a Toronto businessman and co-founder of Cutten and Foster, the monument honours both family and legacy. Cutten’s firm thrived in the early 20th century, dealing in automobile parts, radios and drapery supplies, symbols of a modernizing Canada.
Created in 1936 by Emanuel Hahn, the monument is sculpted from Laurentian pink granite and designed as a bench flanked by two partially draped female figures. These figures are widely believed to represent Cutten’s wife, Annie Rowena, and her sister, Helen Gertrude Moncur, who died within months of each other. Their forms evoke themes of love, loss and remembrance, making the monument one of the cemetery’s most striking works.
The artist behind this masterpiece, Emanuel Hahn (1881–1957), was a German-born Canadian sculptor celebrated for shaping national identity through art. Hahn designed iconic works such as the Ned Hanlan statue, the Sir Adam Beck memorial and even contributed to Canada’s early coinage, including the beloved caribou on the quarter. His ability to merge classical elegance with a modern sensibility is evident in the Cutten Monument, where personal grief meets timeless beauty.
Local lore has added layers of interpretation over time, with some suggesting the figures may symbolize more than family ties, but regardless of interpretation, the monument remains a stunning example of Canadian funerary art and Hahn’s lasting artistic influence.
Sources:
• The Canadian Encyclopedia – “Emanuel Hahn”
• Wikipedia – “Emanuel Hahn”
• Find a Grave – “Lionel Forbes Cutten”
Photo courtesy of Mount Pleasant Group
