This is a painful image to look at. And pain is a human value that we all share. The death of young children was a fact of life in the California mining camps during the 19th century. This image expresses a sense of loss that began in 1877 and continues on into the 21st century. Mary Ann Kempston died when she was eight years old. (It appears that her three brothers must have died in childhood as well.) A collection of stuffed dolls surrounds Mary Ann’s tombstone. They are sodden from the spring rains. A blue teddy bear lies face down in the mud. The dolls and tombstone are in shadow here – the warmth of the sun does not reach the gravesite. The prone posture of the dolls echo the sense of pain and loss that is felt by visitors to the Catholic Cemetery overlooking the old gold mining town of Chinese Camp 130 years after Mary Ann Kempston’s premature death. Human values are universal – we do not know these people, but we can emotionally share the tragic event evoked in this image because we identify with the victims and their grief stricken parents.