Angel Seated by Tomb
n.d.
Medium
Black chalk and brush and gray wash, over graphite, on cream wove paper
Dimensions
43.3 × 27.1 cm (17 1/16 × 10 11/16 in.)
Classification
chalk
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
115175
Art Historical Context
In the Prints and Drawings collection of the Art Institute of Chicago sits *Angel Seated by Tomb*, a poignant undated drawing by Scottish artist Elizabeth Murray (active c. 1760–1809). Murray, celebrated for her delicate chalk portraits and history subjects exhibited at the Royal Academy, captures a serene yet somber moment: a winged angel perched thoughtfully beside a classical tomb. This evocative scene likely draws from 18th-century themes of mourning and divine consolation, blending neoclassical poise with emotional depth typical of British draftsmanship during the Enlightenment era. Exec...
About the Artist
Elizabeth Murray
Elizabeth Murray (1940–2007) was a pioneering American painter whose exuberant, sculptural canvases redefined the boundaries of abstraction in the late 20th century. Born on September 6, 1940, in Chicago to Irish-Catholic parents—a lawyer father and a mother who aspired to commercial art—she showed an early passion for drawing cartoons, nurtured by her mother's encouragement and high school art te...