Crosses and diamonds, favored in African American vernacular religions, are associated with a central African cosmogram which represents four moments of the sun, or four stages of the soul: birth, life, death, and rebirth. Although Hall frequently used cross and diamond motifs, he was unaware of the African history associated with these symbols, but he did believe in their protective power. His masterful horse painting, done by the artist in the 1940s and acknowledged by him as his first painting, features diamonds above and below the animal.
