Object Details
Artist
Howard Finster, born Valley Head, AL 1916-died Rome, GA 2001
Gallery Label
In 1976, after some four decades of preaching, Howard Finster responded to a vision in which God directed him to "paint sacred art." Finster believed that pictures would help people grasp the enormity of the Word of God. His painted sermons on life, death, salvation, and damnation eventually covered almost every inch of Paradise Garden, his four-acre art environment in Summerville, Georgia.
His concerns about a world of suffering and destruction drove Finster to create the artworks he called "signposts to salvation." In this triptych, he depicts trials encountered in the Bible's Book of Revelations, conveying his belief that no matter what problems loomed, God would protect and deliver the faithful.
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr.
Date
1976
Object number
1988.74.6
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Folk Art
Medium
enamel on fiberboard
Dimensions
30 1/8 x 29 5/8 in. (76.4 x 75.1 cm.)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 3rd Floor, East Wing
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Architecture\religious
Religion\New Testament\Christ
Landscape\river\Jordan River
Religion\angel
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1988.74.6