Sketches for Two Angels and Faith

Francis Augustus Lathrop's working sketches reveal the artist's process in rendering allegorical figures. The loose pen line and watercolor washes show exploration of pose, drapery, and spatial relationships before final composition. Lathrop, an American muralist and decorative artist, worked across painting, design, and illustration during the late nineteenth century. These studies demonstrate the classical training and careful draftsmanship underlying polished public works—the intermediate steps between initial conception and finished execution that museums rarely preserve.