Simon Verity was a British master stone carver whose detailed work graces such buildings as New York City’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine and England’s Canterbury Cathedral.
- Died: August 11, 2024 (Who else died on August 11?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Llandeilo, Wales of Lewy body dementia at the age of 79.
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Simon Verity’s legacy
Born in Amersham, England, Verity established himself as a carver with early works like garden sculptures and memorials. The latter would become an important part of his artistry throughout his career, as he crafted headstones and structures for notable people and by request of families. Among the people for whom he carved headstones were actress Lynn Redgrave (1943–2010) and Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein (1925–2021).
In 1988, Verity was chosen to direct the work on the statuary of the long unfinished Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. The creation of the cathedral’s Portal of Paradise took close to a decade, and as he carved a variety of Biblical figures, Verity took inspiration from the faces of friends and local business owners. His intricate carvings drew visitors to the church. His other notable cathedral work came at Canterbury Cathedral, where Verity carved ornate memorials to notable figures and a floor inscription in honor of St. Thomas Becket.
Verity’s other art was widely varied. His carved sculptures live in the homes of many patrons, including King Charles III and Sir Elton John. He created and restored grottoes in the U.S. and Europe. In New York City, he was among the artists of the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden, which pays tribute to the British subjects who were killed there in terrorist attacks in 2001.
Notable quote
“There’s something in the repetitive action of the work. I’m hitting that stone once every second for two hours, and then I stop work for twenty minutes, and then I begin again, and for eight or ten hours a day, that’s what I do. That’s extraordinary, isn’t it? And I’ve been doing that for thirty years. And that’s a very strange thing to be doing.” —from a 2015 interview with Tracy Cochran
Tributes to Simon Verity
Full obituary: The New York Times
