Drawing Historic Gravestone Portraits
This is from the gravestone of Patience Watson located in Plymouth, Mass.
I have always been in love with portrait-style gravestones. I find the inclusion of specific types of clothing or hat, or hairstyle really draws me in and gets me thinking about who the person was in a different way than the basic gravestone statistics. The drawings on this page are all from photos in Alan Ludwig’s classic gravestone tome Graven Images.
From the gravestone of Rev. Grindall Rawson in Mendon MA.
This is drawing of the Peter Bancroft stone is based on a photo from the Farber Gravestone Collection which is the most immense and valuable online collection of images and searchable content about Early American gravestones ever. If you like historic gravestones I have just found your new favorite website.
From the gravestone of Peter Bancroft in Auburn, MA.
“I like that when my kids say: “Hey that kinda looks like Thomas Jefferson.” I’m pretty sure they mean Daveed Diggs, not the two-dollar bill guy. ”
From the gravestone of Gordon Courtmanche. New Haven, CT.
I have gotten to carve one portrait-style gravestone. I feel really thrilled to have been given that opportunity. I think there’s just something about this that makes me wish I had known him. It draws me in, in a personal, relatable way. Or at least that’s what I was trying to do.