‘Taps at Dusk’ by Gabriel Pons - limited edition print

Gabriel Pons was recently commissioned to produce the 2023 Fredericksburg National Cemetery Memorial Luminaria commemorative print. This art print release coincides with the annual Luminaria event taking place at the cemetery on Saturday May 27, 2023.

The inspiration for the illustration came from Pons’s experience at the Luminaria event in 2017. He recalled a moment around sunset when ‘Taps’ played by a bugler and the entire space took on a solemn and reflective tone. He thought it would be interesting to portray the cemetery at that transitional time of dusk, when the silhouettes of visitors, monuments, and the tree line are contrasted against the sky. Since March, Pons has been making visits to the cemetery site, walking the terraced paths and creating sketches to better understand the landscape and the variety of monuments incorporated into the terrain.

Each print is hand signed and numbered by the artist in a limited edition of 100. This is the second year that a limited edition art print has been issued. The 2022 print by Pete Morelewicz and this year’s print are available at the park gift shop in the Fredericksburg National Cemetery (1013 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg) $30 each.

This project was made possible thanks to the partnership between the Fredericksburg National Cemetery, The National Park Service, Historic Fredericksburg Foundation Inc. , and the City of Fredericksburg.