The Angel of Purity

"The Angel of Purity" (Maria Mitchell Memorial) is a marble sculpture in the Philadelphia Museum of Art that honors Maria Gouverneur Mitchell, who died in Philadelphia in 1898 at the age of 22. Her bereft parents commissioned the sculpture to represent Maria's "singularly sweet and blameless life," and their grief over her loss. It was created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and completed in 1902.

I don't know of any other art work that blends such a strong mix of beauty and sadness. Photos of it are not able to convey the feeling you get when standing in front of it looking up at Maria's face.

Noticed

Years ago and many times since, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art