Brooklyn Angels

The Bible readings at the beginning of Lent say that after Jesus passed through the temptations in the wilderness, angels came to tend him. In our time we might dismiss the idea of heavenly mes­sengers as naive or purely metaphorical. But Laura James offers matter-of-fact paintings of angels. The artist recalls that as a girl she would read while sitting on the roof of her family's brownstone in New York. She imagined that angels were with her in that secluded place. The Judeo-Christian story is well populated with angelic presence—they are messengers, challengers and comforters. We are not alone.

—-Lois Huey-Heck