John Adams and Abigail Adams at Peacefield in Quincy Massachusetts

The Real Faces of John Adams and Abigail Adams

Well, this is the true face of John Adams. As for Abigail, her likeness may not be entirely accurate, since there are no life masks, death masks, or photographs of her.

Abigail Adams painting by Gilbert Stuart and John Adams life mask cast by John Henri Isaac Browere

John Adams life mask was cast of his head and upper torso by John Henri Isaac Browere in 1825. Adams himself wrote: "Quincy, Mass., Nov. 23, 1825 — This certifies that John H. I. Browere of the city of New York has yesterday and to-day made two portrait bust molds on my person and made a cast of the first, which has been approved of by friends." The original life mask is housed at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Adams the Elder

John Adams sitting with his wife Abigail Adams in front of their Peacefield home

In this composition, John Adams’ face has been faithfully reconstructed in Photoshop from the life mask. His body combines photographic elements and a period-accurate action figure. Abigail Adams' likeness was AI-enhanced from a portrait by Gilbert Stuart. Their historic Peacefield home forms the backdrop, to reflect its 18th-century character by removing modern objects.

Close up view of John Adams sitting with his wife Abigail Adams in front of their Peacefield home

John and Abigail met in Weymouth, Mass., in the house where Abigail was born to a minister and his wife on Nov. 22, 1744. She was only 15, while John was 24. Barely five feet tall and slim, she had dark brown hair and eyes. John was a country lawyer, already losing his hair and quite plump – not necessarily a bad thing in those days. John accompanied his friend Richard Cranch to the house where Abigail lived with her parents and two sisters. They went because Richard had a romantic interest in Abigail’s older sister Mary.

Adams the Younger - De-aged Life Mask

A younger John Adams sitting with his wife Abigail Adams in front of their Peacefield home

John described the visit in his diary as a waste of time. He didn’t like Abigail’s father, the Rev. William Smith, describing him as ‘a crafty designing man.’ He dismissed the three girls was “not fond, not frank, not candid.” Nor did Abigail’s mother Elizabeth Quincy think much of John, who, she felt, lacked manners.

Source: New England Historical Society

Close up view of a younger John Adams sitting with his wife Abigail Adams in front of their Peacefield home