The Peaceable Kingdom

Artist Edward Hicks (American, 1780–1849)

Dateabout 1833

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 44.5 × 60.2 cm (17 1/2 × 23 11/16 in.)
framed: 59.5 × 74.9 cm (23 7/16 × 29 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1934.65

DescriptionPredominantly painted in earth tones with the lighter blues of water and sky showing in the background, the artwork is painted in a primitive style. There are thirteen animals and three children in the foreground. A lion is the central figure surrounded by a wolf, lamb, leopard, kid, three calves, a young lion, cow, bear, bear cub, and ox. The children are touching the animals or resting their hands over the animals’ dens. In the background are eight men in colonial garb and nine Native Americans. Two of the men are showing a long paper to four seated Native Americans, while another man is speaking to them.
Label TextA painter and Quaker preacher, Hicks created about 60 versions of The Peaceable Kingdom as an expression of his faith. Based on a Biblical verse from the Book of Isaiah, the painting depicts natural enemies such as the lion and ox and wolf and lamb in harmonious coexistence. Hicks connected this theme to American history by including a scene of William Penn's 1681 treaty with the Indigenous Lenape peoples. Yet, despite this vision of peaceful relations, European settlement in what became Pennsylvania had, by the 1700s, forced the Lenape from their homelands to the north and west.ProvenanceAmerican Folk Art Gallery, New York NY

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