# The Devil and Tom Walker

- By: John Quidor (American, 1801–1881)
- Date: 1856
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Framed: 84 x 104 x 8.5 cm (33 1/16 x 40 15/16 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 68.8 x 86.6 cm (27 1/16 x 34 1/8 in.)
- Culture: United States
- Credit line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1967.18)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1967.18/1967.18_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Based on a story by Washington Irving published in 1824, The Devil and Tom Walker presents a miserly man who encounters the devil while traveling through a heavily wooded swamp. Walker, seen on the left in the painting, strikes a deal with the devil, who holds an ax at far right, soon gaining riches but losing his soul in the process. Ultimately, the devil destroys Walker.