For the last couple of years, I have published posts about Boston’s angels. The city’s Puritan heritage means that we don’t have a volume and variety of angel statues as European cities do. Still, it’s possible to find angels high in the air, tucked in corners, lighting up sanctuaries, or decorating structures.
10 Posts on Angels
Here is a collection of 10 posts about the members of Boston’s angel host that I have been able to find. There are many, many more angels in stained glass windows but I have not done an exhaustive inventory. It might be a fun task, though. If you know of an angel outside of a cemetery that doesn’t appear here, please let me know. I’m always happy to find more.
Each entry is linked to the post that provides a lot more information and pictures. Here’s your chance to go angel hunting for the holidays without moving a step. Enjoy the trip.
Boston’s Angel Host
The Angel of the Waters
Location: Boston Public Garden
Medium: Sculpture
Sculptor: Daniel Chester French
Joseph Coletti’s Speedy Angels
Location: Sumner Tunnel, North End
Medium: Sculpture
Sculptor: Joseph Arthur Coletti
The Brattle Square Angels
Location: First Baptist Church, Back Bay Commonwealth Avenue
Medium: Sculpture
Artist: Frederic Auguste Bartholdi
The Solitary Church Court Angel
Location: Church Court, Back Bay
Medium: Sculpture
Sculptor: Gene Cauthen
Detail: Angel with crown of thorns
The BPL’s Frieze of Angels
Location: Boston Public Library, Back Bay
Medium: Paint and plaster
Artist: John Singer Sargent
Cornelius and the Angel
Location: Church of the Covenant, Back Bay
Medium: Stained glass
Artist: Louis Comfort Tiffany
Thomas Gruchy’s Musical Angels
Location: Old North Church, North End
Medium: Carved and polychromed wood
Artist: Unknown
T
he Angels of Holy Cross Cathedral
Location: Holy Cross Cathedral, South End
Medium: Sculpture and stained glass
Artist: Unknown
The Tiffany Sanctuary
Location: Church of the Covenant, Back Bay
Medium: Brass
Artist: Louis Comfort Tiffany
Veteran’s Memorial Park
Location: The Fens, Back Bay
Medium: Sculpture
Artist: John F. Paramino
A Few Mortuary Angels
I don’t typically include the angel monuments found in cemeteries because mortuary angels don’t strike me as appropriate for a Christmas celebration. There are some exceptional angel statues, however, Here are two:
The Magnificent Wings
Photo: Douglas Yeo
Martin Milmore and the Angel of Death
Location: Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain
Medium: Sculpture
Artist: Daniel Chester French
Being Thankful for George Robert White
Location: Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain
Medium: Sculpture
Artist: Daniel Chester French
