Sketch of Two Angels

Francis Augustus Lathrop's blue-ink study depicts two winged figures in dynamic poses against an orange paper ground. The upper figure holds a stringed instrument, while the lower figure gestures expressively downward. Lathrop, an American designer and illustrator active in the late nineteenth century, worked across multiple media including wallpaper, textiles, and book illustration. This preparatory sketch demonstrates the figure studies and compositional explorations that informed decorative arts and commercial illustration of the period. The economical linework and gestural quality reflect working methods common to artists developing designs for publication and applied arts.