The Discovery of Adam
Artist: William Holbrook Beard (American, 1824-1900)
Date: 1891
Dimensions:
H: 18 in. (45.7 cm); W: 24 in. (61 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 2004.82
Label Text:Look closely at the shell of the strange tortoise-like creature for a clue to the meaning of this painting. A partially legible inscription reads 2000 000[0?] / B C / Adam. Standing on a beach, seven well-dressed primates examine, poke, discuss, and contemplate the significance of this animal. The “punchline” of the painting is that these civilized monkeys of long ago (note the prehistoric pterodactyls fighting in the background) can no more believe that they descended from such a primitive “Adam” than the artist and many of his contemporaries could accept that human beings evolved from apes.
Created 32 years after the publication in 1859 of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Beard's composition intentionally and comically aligns the artist with an anti-Darwinian position. As the creation-evolution controversy continues to this day, Beard's satire remains as topical as when it was painted more than 100 years ago.
Created 32 years after the publication in 1859 of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Beard's composition intentionally and comically aligns the artist with an anti-Darwinian position. As the creation-evolution controversy continues to this day, Beard's satire remains as topical as when it was painted more than 100 years ago.
Not on view
In Collection(s)