Sketch for an Angel

Francis Augustus Lathrop's graphite study depicts an angelic figure in profile, gazing upward with wings folded behind the shoulders. The sketch demonstrates the artist's attention to classical proportion and ethereal drapery, rendered with quick, assured strokes typical of preliminary design work. Lathrop, known for his decorative arts and illustration practice, employed such studies as preparatory material for larger compositions, murals, or decorative schemes. The work reflects late nineteenth-century American artistic training, rooted in academic tradition and neoclassical ideals of form.