The tradition of children portraits creating is formed in the New World under the influence of Spanish court portraiture. The colonial elites, led by viceroys, following the Madrid court, seek to perpetuate the memory of their family members. The first children portrait images appeared in the viceroyalties in the 17th century in religious compositions, in the 18th century, along with the flourishing of local portrait schools, the number of children images also grew. The colonial children portrait repeated the types of European, primarily Spanish portraits: family portraits with parents and children, group and personal children portraits, post-mortem and funeral portraits and votive images made in gratitude for the miraculous healing of a child from a fatal illness. Just as in the art of the metropolis in the Spanish colonies, in creating group family portraits the iconographic model “a lo divino” was widely used - the image of a person was portrayed at the moment of prayer, the veneration of saints. The colonial portrait of the 17th-18th century in the field of composition repeated Spanish works, while the colonial masters, when were creating a portrait of the 18th century, could use the schemes of the Spanish court portrait of the late 16th-17th centuries. Colonial portrait schools were formed primarily in the capitals of the colonies - Mexico City, Lima and later Bogota, but also portraits were created in other major art centers such as Cusco or Quito. Most of the children portraits were created by artists from the capitals, who were more dependent on European models than the regional schools masters. In the New Spain children portraits in the 18th century, the influence of the Spanish court portrait and changing metropolis artistic tastes were most pronounced. Characteristic features of the children portraits national tradition in the Spanish colonies painting were the inclusion in the portraits of details related to the life of the colony, the bright color of the works and greater freedom in choosing a composition in comparison with Spain. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.