Why do some adults & elderly people display large childhood portraits of themselves?

Now I am aware of 3 women in their 50's or 60's who have huge framed childhood self portraits of themselves displayed in their homes. To be clear, what appears in each picture is just a portrait of the lady when she was probably 5 or 6 years old, no one else, nothing else. These pictures are not part of a collection. They are each the centerpiece of a room. (Again, 3 different ladies who probably don't know each other all did this same thing.)

Why would someone do that?

Can anyone offer any information that would make this less creepy*?

*I don't say that to be rude. It just feels that way to me.

My thinking:
(I am a highly sensitive person, and the visual storytelling to me is saying, "look what I've become." And I'm thinking to myself, "sorry I couldn't help you." And I think that even though these people are twice my age or more. For this to make sense, they all 3 say they suffer from mental health issues such as ptsd.)

I don't understand it at all. I would imagine is has something to do with their ego and wanting to see their youthfulness reflected on them. I also think it might be their way of feeling more successful, rich, or powerful because hanging huge self-portraits was something rich and noble households did in the past. Either way, the fad died out for a reason - it's freaking weird to do it.

Why not ? Im 48 for gawds sake , I wouldn't mind hanging a pic of me when I was a beautiful lil girl, instead the old me I have become.

MAYBE it would be better if it were part of a collection of other pictures of family when they were younger and the extended family's current kids or something...

But to have a full sized black and white close up portrait of oneself in early childhood as the only picture in the room?

Christina, I think your current picture is nice, but if you changed that to a little girl, it would be creepy, to me anyway.

It goes back to the Greek myth of Narcissus viewing his reflection in a pool of water.

The only large framed portrait I have on the wall is of my daughter high school graduation but it is in a hallway. Not in the living room. In the living room i again have 2 of her pics but 5 by 7 frames. Those Her wedding pics. The only picture of myself in a living room of me is me and my daughter at her college graduation, it is 5 by 7 and on a shelf not wall.

I have a good friend whose house is covered of pics of her with her dog. Seems a bit excessive but she had no one else so dog is her life.

Do these ladies have no one else?

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It may have been something that their parents had made and they value the painting/portrait as something their parents had done and/or valued in their own home. It could be, like my husband's case, there are almost no pictures of him as a small child. The only one we have of him happens to be a fairly large picture I had framed BECAUSE none other exist at all. You see it as creepy. They may simply see it as a reminder of another time when people in their life were still around who may be gone now.

Maybe their inner child is crying out to be seen and they are ignoring them in other ways. It's a way of their inner children being seen, gaining attention. Just a guess, how can we ever really know what's going on with others, especially when sometimes they're not even aware themselves?!

We werent always old, you know!

At the time of the portraits, life was full of potential. I think its important to try to maintain that sense of potential in our later years. Otherwise we'll go crazy waiting for death.

I'm not yet elderly but have a small picture of me and my sibling as kids together displayed on the mantel, I have a lot of family pics taken over the years framed and on display including one of my OH when he was a little boy. To me it's part of who we are, the story of our lives, and it reminds us of those times.

I have an elderly friend who has a framed photo of herself aged 16 on display. I don't find it creepy, I like that I can see that same smile just in a younger face. She is a very motivated, positive person who lives life to the full and has more 'go' in her than many half her age, so there's nothing sad or mawkish about it in her case. I guess it depends on the person/context.

Totally agree with this Hankster, my friend fits this description perfectly.

Maybe next time ask about the portraits? That way they can explain why they have them ... Could be lots of reasons
Are you sure the pictures are even them? Just wondered if it could be a series by a famous local artist, or portraits of grandchildren etc did they say it was self portraits

i see no problem in putting old pictures up of yourself on a room wall. it reminds us of what we were doing at the time and maybe it was a fun and happy time for the person, maybe as compared to where they are now, or just because they were younger when they did a lot of work, school etc...now they are older and probably don't look as good. it is like a reminder of our youth.

Idk why they do it...

Ask them, only they can answer accurately, we can only speculate.


I'm more interested in why you find this creepy, or rather in what way is it creepy?


It's a picture and I don't understand at all why pictures are less creepy in groups....

The only photos I find creepy are of movies that are nearly 100 years old or older because of the unreal pancake makeup, etc. But family/childhood pictures don't creep me out. I wish I had my childhood pictures because it would be good to see who I was versus who I am. And as others said, remember the potential in life and in myself.

Edit: Well, actually Victorian photos creep me out, especially of dead children, etc. (They used to photograph their dead.)

OH the corpse pictures I get!!!

If I had to see one on a wall, I would probably be a bit creeped out myself.


I just don't get why these individual portraits are even remotely creepy and how or why they'd be less creepy of there were more pictures...

It might simply be a memory they cherish

I don't know why they do it.

Growing up it would have been considered to be a little narcissistic to hang photos of yourself up in my house and, so, that is what stuck with me, right or wrong.

I've seen old childhood photos in homes, but not as the single photo with no other photos around. Would be curious to find out if any of them, give a reason.
Maybe it's as close to their mom, as they can get, if there aren't any photos, but by now, that would seem unlikely.

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Personally, I don't understand why people put up pictures of themselves at ALL. Like wedding photos.

Like... in my living space, I don't want to see myself. Then again, I also don't put up pictures of people as I don't find it works with my aesthetics. It's just my preferences. And if I have pictures of myself up... well, it makes me feel like I'm being conceited and vain. So I don't.

Keep in mind, I do have tons of photos of myself but I keep them on facebook - for friends and family. Not sure why I find that less conceited

Really, it's to each their own. I'd be way more likely to hang up a childhood picture of myself or a spouse than I would be to put up a more recent photo.

I definitely wouldn't hang up a picture of myself but what if there are other people on a picture as well? Like your child or spouse or parents? I wouldn't think it is vain. Would you think it is vain if there are other family on there?

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I don't think it's vain when other people do it.

but I worry that others would think *I* was vain if I did it!

Hypocritical to the max I know

Joes21 and Hankster - I agree with your thinking on it, that it's a reminder of where you come from and who you are or used to be. If I were to do that I would only have a couple of small portraits. I can't imagine why anyone would have a huge photo of themselves at a much younger age.

For me putting up a pic of just me myself would be strange as well. I just think it is different if it is a family picture with you included. Can't cut myself out lol

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I don't know but any photo that is big is creepy for me. I think it sort of looks at me....

Wen my mon died last year, we found many frames photos of myself an my siblings. They are mostly childhood photos, and we were all damn cute! I have several of mine displayed with other family photos. I want my friends to see how cute I was! And that I really was blond at one time!