The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

Paradise Regained

1968

Duane Michals

(American, 1932-)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 8.6 x 12.7 cm (3 3/8 x 5 in.); Paper: 12.6 x 17.8 cm (4 15/16 x 7 in.); Matted: 30.6 x 35.6 cm (12 1/16 x 14 in.)
Gift of Museum members in 1989 1989.446
© Duane Michals. Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York.
Location: Not on view

Description

Convinced that photography cannot represent reality, Michals describes the human condition through a combination of symbolism, metaphor, and narrative. In this sequence of images, the material possessions of a man and woman—recalling Adam and Eve in paradise—are gradually replaced by plants. Warning the viewer that one’s identity cannot be defined through worldly possessions, Michals depicts the couple’s transformation into more pure, natural beings. He is considered a pioneer in working in sequence, staging open-ended narratives, and synthesizing images with text.
  • Hinson, Tom E. "Contemporary American Photographs: An Exhibition." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 9 (1992): 306-51. Reproduced & Mentioned: p. 315-17 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 56-59; Reproduced: P. 244
  • PROOF: Photography in the Era of the Contact Sheet. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-November 29, 2020).
    Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
  • {{cite web|title=Paradise Regained|url=false|author=Duane Michals|year=1968|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.446