Focus on this artwork and explore the Provenance.
Upon its completion in 1828, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden was first exhibited to the public later that year with his Garden of Eden (Amon Carter Museum). They were exhibited together at the National Academy Museum and School, which was then known as the National Academy of Design in New York. Cole was a founding member of the National Academy and exhibited his works there in the hopes of selling them or garnering commissions.
In 1829, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden was bought by the prominent doctor David Hosack, who is known as the doctor that tended to Alexander Hamilton after his fatal duel.  In addition to medicine, Hosack was a patron of the arts.  He was a member of the American Academy of the Fine Arts and promoted the works of Samuel Morse and Cole through purchasing their works for his own personal collection.  Upon Hosack's death in 1835, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden was left to his third wife, Magdalena Coster. When Coster died in 1846, John Kearney Rodgers, the husband of Hosack's youngest daughter, Emily Hosack, inherited the painting.Eventually, in 1849, the painting was bought by James Lenox, a famed collector of paintings and books. Lenox exhibited the painting in the art gallery of his Lenox Library.  Although he died in 1890, the painting remained on display in the Lenox Library, as listed in the 1892 gallery guide. However, the Lenox Library was facing financial difficulties, so in 1895, the painting along with other art of the Lenox Library was consolidated with the Astor Library and Tilden Trust to form the collection of the newly created New York Public Library (NYPL). In 1943, the NYPL sold the painting to raise money. It was auctioned at Parke-Bernet Galleries on April 16, 1943. The painting was bought by Arnold Seligmann, Rey, & Co., a New York art dealership.Maxim Karolik, an art collector, acquired the painting later that year. His wife, Martha Catherine Codman Karolik, donated the painting to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  The MFA officially acquired the painting on June 12, 1947. It has been in their collection ever since and can be seen on display in their galleries.
Maxim Karolik James Lenox David Hosack Garden of Eden Martha Catherine Codman Karolik Eden New York Public Library Lenox Library Expulsion from the Garden of Eden Alexander Hamilton American Academy of the Fine Arts Boston Amon Carter Museum John Kearney Rodgers Samuel Morse National Academy of Design Eve National Academy Museum and School