This painting depicts the three children of Arthur and Joanna Mason, a prosperous Boston family. The wealth and cultural refinement of the parents are reflected in the postures and clothing worn by their children, David, Joanna, and Abigail Mason. David, portrayed as a young gentleman, holds a silver-topped walking stick that symbolizes his position as the male heir, while his sisters hold symbols of their feminine attributes.

The artist who painted this portrait is unknown. However, it is thought that the same artist created portraits for the Freake and Gibbs families - the artist is thus known as the Freake-Gibbs painter. Today, the Freake-Gibbs portraits provide us with information about how the upper-middle-class lived in Colonial New England during the final decades of the seventeenth century.