The Seventh Day (The Seed Was in Itself)

1952-53

American, born 1905, Spokane, Washington; died 1986, Seattle, Washington

Callahan’s title questions how God might, on the Seventh Day of creation, look back on the state of the world He created. The Book of Genesis states that on the seventh day of rest, God saw everything that He had made, and “behold, it was good.” And yet in Callahan’s re-casting of the Genesis story, the evil serpent is revealed at the center of all life, as the seed that spawned all living things.

Tempera on paperboard

34 x 46 3/4 in. (86.36 x 118.75 cm)

Northwest Annual Purchase Fund

53.123

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryIn chronological order:

LaConner, Washington, Museum of Northwest Art, "Kenneth Callahan",
July 1, 2001 - October 15, 2001

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Views and Visions in the Pacific Northwest", June 7 - September 9, 1990.

Published ReferencesKingsbury, Martha and Sarah Clark. "Northwest Traditions." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1978, p. 19

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