What's so amazing about this artwork is that the headstone itself is located in a simple prairie cemetery. Most of the headstones are plain and barely readable, but this one is vibrant and beautifully decorated. The gates represent the entrance to Heaven, and the dove most likely represents the pure soul of the individual passing on to their eternal rest in Heaven (there is also a faint Masonic Square and Compass at the top of the headstone, which I talked about in a previous post).
It is a bit hard to see, but this headstone was designed to look as though it was draped in a cloth with frills and tassels. Before the modern funeral home came into popularity, the deceased would lie in state in the parlor of their family home. Typically, everything would be decorated to reflect the mourning period that the family was going through. One of the most common of these decorations would be heavy black draping for all of the furniture in the parlor. This headstone reflects the common mourning decor of the time, and it's pretty unique!
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