Edgar Tolson, Paradise, 1968, carved and painted white elm with pencil, 12 7⁄8 x 17 x 10 in. (32.7 x 43.2 x 25.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.271
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Paradise
- Artist
- Date
- 1968
- Location
- Dimensions
- 12 7⁄8 x 17 x 10 in. (32.7 x 43.2 x 25.5 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
- Mediums Description
- carved and painted white elm with pencil
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Animal — reptile — snake
- Animal — lion
- Animal — cattle
- Animal — bird — owl
- Landscape — tree — apple tree
- Religion — Old Testament — Eve
- Religion — Old Testament — Adam
- Object Number
- 1986.65.271
Artwork Description
Edgar Tolson created many carvings that show Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He believed that the Fall of Man, along with the crucifixion of Christ, was one of the most important moments in history because it symbolized human weakness. A former preacher with vulnerabilities of his own, he seemed particularly attracted to images of this event. In Paradise the devil in the form of a serpent slithers toward the Tree of Knowledge, an act that foreshadows Adam and Eve's fall from grace. Tolson painted the serpent black to identify the devil's wickedness in contrast with the pure white elm of the rest of the figures.