The Boston Massacre

1770

Paul Revere

Artist, American, 1735 - 1818

Printed with black lines and shading and then painted, a row of seven red-uniformed soldiers to the right fire rifles into a crowd of dozens in a town square in this vertical engraving. The soldiers are led by an eighth behind the line, who raises a sword. Blood gushes from wounded people to the left, who wear clothing in shades of marine and sky blue and brick red. A small brown dog stands near one dead person along the bottom of the composition, and two- and three-story buildings enclose the rectangular square behind the action. The sky is tinted blue along the top of the print, and a crescent moon is in the top left corner. An inscription near the dog in the image reads, “Engrav’d Printed & Sold by Paul Revere Boston.” Printed text over the image reads, “The Bloody Massacre perpetuated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.” Three columns of text below read, “Unhappy Boston! See thy Sons deplore, They hallowed Walks besmear’d with guiltless Gore. While faithless P—n and his savage Bands, With murd’rous Rancour stretch their bloody Hands; Like fierce Barbarainas grinning o’er their Prey, Approve the Carnage and enjoy the Day. If sealding drops from Rage from Anguish Wrung, If speeches Sorrows lab’ring for a Tongue, Or if a weeping World can ought appease, The plaintive Ghosts of Victims such as these; The Patriot’s copious Tears for each are shed, A glorious Tribute which embalms the Dead. But know, Fat summons to that awful Goal, Where Justice strips the Murd’rer of his Soul: Should venal C—ts the scandal of the Land, Snatch the relentless Villain from her Hand, Keen Execrations on this Plate inscribed, Shall reach a Judge who never can be brib’d.” Cursive printed script below reads, “The unhappy Sufferers were Sam’l Gray, Sam’l Maverick, Jam’s Caldwell, Crispus Attacuks & Pat’k Carr Killed. Six wounded, two of them (Christ’r Monk and John Clark) Mortally.”

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving with hand coloring on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 20 × 21.91 cm (7 7/8 × 8 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 27.31 × 23.81 cm (10 3/4 × 9 3/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1943.3.9042

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Brigham 1969, pl. 14

More About this Artwork

Article:  Ten Artworks to Understand Early United States History

From the Native peoples lobbying to keep their homelands to immigrants facing challenges in their new home, works from our collection help us understand our nation’s beginnings.


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Lessing Julius Rosenwald, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; acquired 1943 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1986

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1986-1987

2016

  • Three Centuries of American Prints: from the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery in Prague, Prague 1; Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, 2016 - 2017, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1969

  • Brigham, Clarence S. Paul Revere's Engravings. New York: Atheneum, 1969, pl. 14.

Inscriptions

recto: in plate, above image: The Boston Massacre perpetuated in King Street BOSTON on March 5th, 1770 by a party of the 29th RegT.; in plate, in image, at lower left: Engrav'd Printed & Sold by Paul Revere BOSTON

Watermarks

W

Wikidata ID

Q65024291


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