Gloria

About the Artwork

Dewing’s small, densely packed composition of four singing angels alludes to depictions of angels playing musical instruments found in 14th-century medieval manuscripts. Angels were traditionally shown playing stringed instruments, whose delicate tones were thought to lift the mind to spiritual matters. The harp, as depicted here, was the instrument most closely associated with heavenly music. With the continuous circling of halos and harps, Dewing suggested a hypnotic, celestial melody.

Inscriptions

signed, upper left, in graphite: T W Dewing / 1884; by artist, across bottom, in watercolor: gloria; verso, center, in graphite: [sTC?] [underlined]; 15 x 162 [underlined] / 165; center left, in graphite: 125 [underlined]

Provenance

John and Edith Gellatly; [William MacBeth Galleries, New York].

Exhibition history

Second Exhibition of Water Colors and Pastels. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 15-February 15, 1925). America Draws. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1984-March 17, 1985). Treasures on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 10-July 24, 1988). Beauty Reconfigured: The Art of Thomas Wilmer Dewing. The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (organizer) (March 21-June 9, 1996); National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC (July 19-October 14, 1996). Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002). Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014). Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015). American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (organizer) (February 25-May 15, 2017).

Quick Overview

Artist: Thomas Wilmer Dewing (American, 1851–1938)
Date: 1884
Medium: gouache over graphite
Dimensions: Sheet: 30.8 x 27.8 cm (12 1/8 x 10 15/16 in.); Image: 27 x 23 cm (10 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: The Fanny Tewksbury King Collection
Accession no.: 1956.722

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.