Eve and Adam

Arthur Dial described his art as a “record of what went by.” Eve and Adam represents the scene that Christians define as the origin of sin. He made the picture to represent his belief that, “Everybody sings. We are all born in sin.” The materials that compose the image—the industrial sealing compound he used to create raised outlines, or the rough burlap he painted on in place of canvas—

record his time spent working in the Pipe Shop in Bessemer, Alabama. He liked working in the pipe shop, but eventually his back began to ache, and he developed a breathing problem, likely from the asbestos used to make the pipes.