Mercy's Dream
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
84 x 66 1/4 in. (213.4 x 168.3 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the artist, 1897
Accession Number
97.35
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Mercy's Dream** (1858) by Daniel Huntington is a oil-on-canvas painting that captures a visionary moment infused with spiritual grace. Measuring an imposing 84 x 66¼ inches, this American work features ethereal angels and serene women, evoking themes of divine mercy and redemption. Huntington, a leading 19th-century American and president of the National Academy of Design, was known for his luminous, detailed style that blended Romantic idealism with moral depth, often drawing from religious narratives popular in Victorian-era America. Created just before the Civil War, the painting reflect...
About the Artist
Daniel Huntington · 1816–1906
Daniel Huntington (1816–1906) was born into a prominent New York family on October 4, 1816, descending from distinguished New England lineage. His early education began at age fourteen at Smith's Academy in New Haven, followed by Yale College, where he studied with Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor, artist, and president of the National Academy of Design, in 1835. After a disciplinary incident invo...