Benjamin West (American, active England, 1738-1820)
The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise
INV-1022
Benjamin West (American, active England, 1738-1820)1791, retouched 1803
The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise
Benjamin West (American, active England, 1738-1820) →18th Centurynineteenth century19th centuryoil on canvaspaint
Date
1791, retouched 1803
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
48.6 × 72.9 cm (19 1/8 × 28 11/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
George F. Harding Collection
This tumultuous scene shows Adam and Eve, the first man and woman in the Hebrew Bible, being driven out of the Garden of Eden. Benjamin West created it as a preparatory sketch for one of several large paintings intended for a chapel in Windsor Castle, an ancient seat of the British monarchy that was undergoing restoration in the late 18th century. West worked on the project for two decades, but King George III abandoned plans for the chapel’s decoration and the paintings were never installed.
One of the earliest American artists to achieve international renown, West spent much of his career in London. There, he served as a teacher and mentor to a generation of younger American artists who trained abroad, including Rembrandt Peale and Thomas Sully.
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