Adult Funeral Procession

1870s
Not on view
Here, Chappel depicts a funeral procession with a minister leading the widower and his son, attendant mourners, and the pallbearers, identified by their white sashes and gloves. The pictured cemetery, located near Stanton and Chrystie Streets, would have been situated in the city’s northern reaches in 1807. By the turn of the nineteenth century, overcrowded cemeteries had become a major problem for New York, and in 1804, the council banned all burials south of Pump (now Canal) Street. By 1809, the council had also prohibited the common practice of interring the dead below the sidewalks just outside the walls of cemeteries when they reached capacity.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Adult Funeral Procession
  • Artist: William P. Chappel (American, 1801–1878)
  • Date: 1870s
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on slate paper
  • Dimensions: 6 x 9 1/4 in. (15.2 x 23.5 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps, and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954
  • Object Number: 54.90.489
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.