8 Angels of Pompeii

When I first discovered the Angels of Pompeii, I was elated at their beauty and symbolic power. So much could be read into them and taken from them. My discovery was on a third trip to the excavated site. I felt as a child, responding to something so special, so symbolically hopeful. I found such treasures upon the frescoed walls of the ancient destroyed city.

In 1978 I was working with chrome film, choosing to present the figures as color study images in various slide talks. It was later that I began some printing from the chromes as Cibachrome prints, ultimately deciding upon a group of eight which I called The Angel Suite, finishing in a small series of artist’s proofs in 1982.

The angels seemed to beckon for more, for something else and it occurred to me that another artist might respond uniquely to them. I sent Robert Bly my selected group for his poetic voice to answer their call. Upon his agreement, I considered a new treatment of printing, as dye transfer prints. It then became 8 Angels of Pompeii in a new edition involving Malcolm Grear to design the folio. This became realized in 1991, and then became a small gift book with my other wall studies from Pompeii, published by Ballantine Books.