Garden of Eden Sundial

Paul Manship, Garden of Eden Sundial, 1941, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.7
Copied Paul Manship, Garden of Eden Sundial, 1941, bronze, 36 1212 in. (92.730.5 cm) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.7

Artwork Details

Title
Garden of Eden Sundial
Artist
Date
1941
Dimensions
36 1212 in. (92.730.5 cm) diam.
Credit Line
Bequest of Paul Manship
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Keywords
  • Religion — Old Testament — Eve
  • Religion — Old Testament — Adam
Object Number
1966.47.7

Artwork Description

Paul Manship created a number of monumental sundials during his career, including one for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. A sundial works by projecting a shadow that moves as the Earth rotates around the sun. In Garden of Eden Sundial, the long stick would indicate the time by casting a shadow on the numbers that line the inside of the sphere. Marie Louise Speed commissioned this depiction of the Garden of Eden to decorate private grounds surrounding her estate outside Louisville, Kentucky. In the scene, Adam and Eve grasp the fruit of knowledge that will drive them from paradise. Manship patterned Adam’s hair on the serpent’s scales to emphasize man’s fall from grace.