Angel of Mercy is a very rare early piece. It was initially a plaster cast of a portrait head modelled by Agar of her husband, Joseph Bard, a keen Classicist and noted collector of seals and engraved gems. Bard undoubtedly exercised a great influence on Agar's thought and deepened her awareness of mythology and the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome; and Angel of Mercy's painted, incised designs combine a fluid biomorphic line taken from natural forms with strong allusions to Classical antiquity. Its companion, Angel of Anarchy covered in scraps of fur and strange painted transfer circles, was one of the most popular objects at the Surrealist Objects & Poems exhibition at the London Gallery in November 1937 and was reproduced on the catalogue cover.