Norman Adams

Christ’s Cross and Adam’s Tree

1989

Not on display

Artist
Norman Adams 1927–2005
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Support: 1270 × 1526 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1990
Reference
T05820

Display caption

Norman Adams studied at the Royal College of Art and made an early name for himself as a stage designer. In the following years he received commissions for murals and ceramics. Elected an RA in 1972, Adams became Professor of Painting and Keeper at the Royal Academy in the late 1980s. The title of this painting is taken from a poem by John Donne. It shows the Virgin Mary, St John and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. Adam’s tree, from which the cross was made, stood in the Garden of Eden.

Gallery label, September 2004

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