Eric Carle’s Angels: An Homage to Paul Klee

At the age of 87, Eric Carle embarked on a series of found-object collages depicting angels. He dedicated these abstract assemblages to the artist Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879-1940), who created over 70 drawings and paintings of angels during his lifetime. “Klee and his angels have become my strange and mysterious passion,” says Carle. He created 20 angels in a spirit of playful improvisation, unbound from the restraints of a picture book. Exhibited for the first time, the angels reveal his artistic interests and influences. Carle’s angels—singular, bold, three-dimensional—are testament to the expressive power of collage in the hands of a master.