Angels in De Morgan Art
Artists William and Evelyn De Morgan were Spiritualists who believed that they made contact with angel messengers. Angels are a key motif in their artworks.
The Angel of Death (1880/1880) by Evelyn De MorganDe Morgan Collection
The Angel of Death
Evelyn De Morgan first envisaged the Angel of Death in childhood poetry. She believed that this gentle, caring being would welcome the souls of the dead to their eternal spiritual life.
In 1880, she first painted this angel. There is a tender touch between life and death.
Love's Passing (1883/1884) by Evelyn De MorganDe Morgan Collection
Love's Passing
In 1883, Evelyn met her future husband William De Morgan. He was 16 years older than her. She worried about him dying before her and painted this picture in 1883 to capture her premature grief. We see her alone with the angel of death in the background.
Cherub Title Panel
William De Morgan's mother was a famous spiritual medium. William inherited her interest in Spiritualism. He created designs featuring cherubs and doves to represent the love and peace of the spirit world.
Cherub Tile
William De Morgan was foremost a decorator of ceramics. Inspired by Italian Renaissance art, he also used cherubs as decorative motifs in his tiles, with little thought to their symbolic meaning.
Gloria in Excelsis
Created in gold material of Evelyn's own invention, this is a rare example of a Victorian gold drawing. Only Burne-Jones and Evelyn De Morgan made this ethereal drawings.
The subject is the 'Gloria' the message delivered to the shepherds by angels announcing the birth of Christ.
Death of a Dragon (Probably 1914 - 1918) by Evelyn De MorganDe Morgan Collection
The Death of a Dragon
Painted towards the end of the First World War, this was one of the last pictures made by Evelyn De Morgan who died in 1919.
She used the angel as a symbol of her hope for peace following the conflict.
Story created by Sarah Hardy, director of the De Morgan Museum
