Object ID	N0037.1961
Title	Peaceable Kingdom
Artist	Hicks, Edward
Object Name	Painting
Early Date	1825
Late Date	1830
Exhibit label line3	The Peaceable Kingdom paintings by Edward Hicks, of which sixty-two are known to exist, are among the most widely recognized icons of American folk art today. Hicks was raised in a Quaker household and became a highly respected Quaker minister, and his Peaceable Kingdoms strongly reflect his religious values and beliefs. This version of Hicks's Peaceable Kingdom includes the block-lettered verse from Isaiah 11:6-9: "The leopard with the harmless kid laid down, And not one savage beast was seen to frown, The lion with the fatling on did move, A little child was leading them in love, The wolf did with the lambkin dwell in peace, His grim carnivrous nature there did ceace, When the great PENN his famous treaty made, With indian chiefs beneath the elm- trees shade." Hicks adapted this verse to include a reference to William Penn, whose humane treatment of Native Americans endeared him to generations of Quakers. A vignette of Penn's treaty with the Indians, copied from Benjamin West's famous painting, appears in the background as it does in many of Hicks's Peaceable Kingdoms.
Description	Scene of Peaceable Kingdom with four rhyming couplets around edges, and small, square scene of a lamb and a bird in each of the four corners. A robed child with left arm around lion and right hand holding a grapevine with six animals in lower right, including a lion, tiger, lamb, cow and others. Vignette of Penn's Treaty with the Indians in background in center left, under a tree on the waterbank. Two vessels, a three-masted ship and a rowboat appear in distance on waterway in center. Cleft tree trunk juts out into center of painting over child's head. Printed border: "The wolf did with the lambkin dwell in peace,/His grim carnivores nature there did cease: The leopard with the harmless kid laid down,/And not one savage beast was seen to frown. The lion with the fatting on did move,/A little child was leading them in love, When the great PENN his famous treaty made,/With indian chiefs beneath the elm-trees shade." On reverse "Edw Hicks to/his adopted sister Mary/Ludom & her Daughters dedicates/this humble piece of his art/of Painting"
Classification	Folk Art--Painting/Drawing--Scene--Genre
Dimensions	H-30 W-36 inches
Material	Oil on canvas
Place of Origin	Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Prior written permission is required for any reproduction, redistribution, publication, or other use of the images in any media, including but not limited to, printed or electronic media. Contact the Office of the Registrar, New York State Historical Association, PO Box 800, Cooperstown, NY 13326, (607) 547-1444, to request permission.    
Last modified on: November 04, 2005