ANGELS AMONG US

Several years ago when visiting Asheville, NC, I read the novel "Look Homeward, Angel" by author, Thomas Wolfe.  After reading the novel we visited the cemetery in Hendersonville, NC, where the beautiful angel Wolfe wrote about is located.  It was after that we began noticing the angels in cemeteries throughout the United States,  and their historical significance, art and beauty of each one.

Hendersonville, NC "Look Homeward, Angel" Statue

Angel in Thomas Wolfe's novel
"Look Homeward, Angel" in Hendersonville, NC

 So, that being the case, we started photographing angels when we had an opportunity and now we have a collection of hundreds of beautiful photographs of statues depicting angels.

This angel was in Newberry, South Carolina 

These marble statues are deteriorating and are being environmentally destroyed by the test of time.  On our recent trip to New Orleans, the opportunity to photograph angels presented itself again.  This may be the city of the most angels we have ever seen.  I will share some of our photos and hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed taking them.

While in New Orleans we visited St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 at 3421 Esplanade Avenue, specifically so I could photograph some of the famous angels.  This cemetery was established in 1854,  and the burials show immigration patterns to floods and yellow fever outbreaks.  Each one deserves a moment of study and reflection about the spiritual significance of what exactly the angel is doing.  To say they are beautiful works of art is an understatement.

St. Louis Cemetery No 3
New Orleans, La.

St. Louis Cemetery No. 3
New Orleans,  La.

St. Louis Cemetery No. 3
New Orleans, La.

An interesting sidenote is that Louisiana creole practitioner of Voodoo, Marie Laveau, is buried in St. Louis Cemetery No. 3.  No, there was not an angel at her gravesite.