Paradise

Edgar Tolson, Paradise, 1968, carved and painted white elm with pencil, 12 781710 in. (32.743.225.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.271

Artwork Details

Title
Paradise
Artist
Date
1968
Dimensions
12 781710 in. (32.743.225.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
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.

Works by this artist (3 items)

Lewis C. Daniel, Mt. Marcy, 1940, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.267
Mt. Marcy
Date1940
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Lewis C. Daniel, Great Range, 1940, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.265
Great Range
Date1940
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Joseph Hardin, Untitled (figure at Table, View of Legs), ca. 1978, colored pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.111
Untitled (figure at Table, View of Legs)
Dateca. 1978
colored pencil on paper
Not on view
William Zorach, (Untitled--Child's Head), 1925, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the collection of the Zorach children, 1976.145.8
(Untitled – Child’s Head)
Date1925
pencil on paper
Not on view
Michael Clark, Classic Series, 1970, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Fendrick, 1980.131.3
Classic Series
Date1970
pencil on paper
Not on view
Study for the Pushover
Date1981
pencil on paper
Not on view