The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Adam and Eve

1928
made at

Cowan Pottery Studio

(America, Rocky River, Ohio, 1920–1931)
sculptor

R. Guy Cowan

(American, 1884–1957)
America, Ohio, Cleveland
glazed ceramic
Each: 35 x 26.7 x 8.2 cm (13 3/4 x 10 1/2 x 3 1/4 in.)
Educational Purchase Fund 1928.235
Location: Not on view

Description

In a remarkable departure from tradition, this ceramic sculpture depicts Adam tempting Eve with the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. According to the Bible, it was Eve who offered Adam the apple which led to mankind's downfall, ushering sin and death into the world. Adam's loincloth indicates that he has become ashamed of his nudity, a sign of his fall from grace. This startling role reversal reflects Cowan's belief that men are more prone to moral temptation than women. In addition to its innovative iconography, the sculpture's rich color and elegant, rhythmic forms establish it as Cowan's finest work and a masterpiece of the American Art Deco aesthetic. Born to a family of potters in East Liverpool, Ohio, Cowan directed the Cowan Pottery studios in Lakewood (1912-17) and Rocky River (1919-32), Ohio. Cowan Pottery was among the foremost producers of American Art Deco pottery and ceramic sculpture. Cowan recruited many talented artists to work in his studios, including Thelma Frazier Winter, Edward Winter, Walter Sinz, Waylande Gregory, and Viktor Schreckengost.
  • Basset, Mark and Naumann, Victoria. Cowan Pottery and the Cleveland School. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. pp. 121-2.
    R. Guy Cowan Entry Card to 1928 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Hawley, Henry. “Cowan Pottery and the Cleveland Museum of Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 7 (September 1989): 238–263. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 252-253, fig. 19 www.jstor.org
    Robinson, William H., et. al. Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946: Community and Diversity in Early Modern America. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 98
    Channing, Laurence, "Before Neo: The May Show." Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 45, no. 07 (September 2005): 3-11. Mentioned & reproduced: p. 5 archive.org
  • Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 28 - July 18, 2004. "Burchfield to Schreckengost: Cleveland Art of the Jazz Age", no exhibition catalogue.
    Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 19-July 21, 1996).
    Cleveland Art Comes of Age: 1919-1940. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 28-September 10, 1989).
    The May Show: 10th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 25-June 3, 1928).
  • {{cite web|title=Adam and Eve|url=false|author=Cowan Pottery Studio, R. Guy Cowan|year=1928|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1928.235