Angel

Abbott Handerson Thayer is recognized today for his ethereal angels, portraits of woman and children, landscapes, and delicate flower paintings. Angel is both a portrait of his daughter Mary at age eleven and an allegory of hope and spirituality. Thayer manipulated the paint with brooms, scrapers, his fingers, and even a paint tube to achieve his effects. The Renaissance-inspired frame, called a tabernacle type, was designed specifically for this painting by American architect Stanford White.

We present today's work thanks to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

P.S. Mary looks very pretty as an angel! Read here our art guide to Victorian Aestheticism.