Frederick Douglass Death Mask
1895
By Ulric Dunbar, Washington, DC

Washingtonian sculptor Dunbar came to Cedar Hill the day after Douglass' death and created this death mask.

Death masks were an important cultural aspect of mourning rituals for many people during the middle ages and into the early twentieth century. Creating death masks declined after the advent of photography.
Plaster. L 28.6, W 18.6, T 14.2 cm
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, FRDO 240