Gravestone Portraits of Children

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Gravestone portraits in the 18th and early 19th centuries were not generally intended to be an exact likeness of the deceased. Their function was to demonstrate to the viewer the taste and status of the deceased.

Wealthy and/or influential men might choose to memorialize a beloved child lost with a gravestone portrait. In most cases these portraits did not look much different than the portraits of adults.

Peter Bancroft

Center Cemetery

Auburn, MA

Carved by James New

c. 1780s

Samuel Mason

Ye Olde Burying Ground

Lexington, MA

Carved by the Parks

c. 1770s

Reuben Hunt

Old Hill Burial Ground

Concord, MA

Carved by the Parks

c. 1770s