A Peaceable Kingdom with Quakers Bearing Banners

Edward Hicks’s Peaceable Kingdom with Quakers Bearing Banners is a visual allegory of the Old Testament prophecy of peace between natural enemies: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). On the right, a child bearing a bough of grapes, an emblem of salvation, leads a harmonious assortment of wild predators and domestic animals from a dark wood into a peaceful natural landscape. In the left distance, a white mountain is crowned by thirteen figures representing Christ and the Apostles; below them, angels deploy a swirling banner, bearing biblical messages of peace, that floats among a gathering of soberly dressed Quaker elders—a group that includes women, whom the Quakers respected as preachers.

This work is one of more than sixty representations of the peaceable kingdom theme Hicks made between 1816 and his death. The earliest versions were based on an engraving after a drawing by English painter Richard Westall (1765–1836) and featured in the background a vignette of William Penn, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, signing the treaty with the Indians inspired by the famous image by Anglo-American history painter Benjamin West (1738–1820); both sources were available to Hicks in the form of engravings. After 1827, the artist, himself a Quaker minister, incorporated the Quaker gathering to express his personal sympathies with the breakaway faction in the Society of Friends led by his older cousin, the charismatic preacher Elias Hicks. This painting shows Elias Hicks in profile, holding a handkerchief as a reference to his heavy perspiration during vigorous preaching, and turning to face the central figure of William Penn. The painting both justified the secession of the so-called Hicksites and expressed the hope of peaceful reconciliation among all God’s creatures.

A successful ornamental painter in his native Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the artist began painting his peaceable kingdom images to resolve his reservations, as a devout Quaker, on the moral rectitude of art making. Scholars speculate that both his didactic subjects and the “naive” simplicity of his style of representation were concessions to Quaker, and especially Hicksite, strictures on decoration. Hicks apparently was drawn irresistibly to art, perhaps as a means of preaching in paint: he made his peaceable kingdom paintings not for sale but as gifts for friends and relatives, or to keep for himself, while painting historical scenes and “portraits” of farmsteads for sale. The evident sincerity of his compelling images has made them widely popular ever since Hicks’s art was rediscovered in the early decades of the twentieth century.

Edward Hicks, 1780–1849: A Special Exhibition Devoted to His Life and Work, Abby Aldrich Folk Art Collection, Williamsburg, Virginia (organizer). Venue: Abby Aldrich Folk Art Collection, Williamsburg, Virginia, September 30–October 30, 1960. [exh. cat.]

Three Self-Taught Pennsylvania Artists: Hicks, Kane, Pippin, The Carnegie, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venues: The Carnegie, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 21–December 4, 1966; The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., January 6–February 19, 1967. [exh. cat.]

Edward Hicks: A Gentle Spirit, Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York, New York (organizer). Venue: Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York, New York, May 15–July 27, 1975. [exh. cat.]

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 1994.

Attitudes Toward Nature, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 30, 1995–April 21, 1996.

Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.

Selected Works from the Collections: Two Hundred Years of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–August 27, 1997.

The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks, The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Center, Williamsburg, Virginia (organizer). Venues: The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Center, Williamsburg, Virginia, February 5–September 5, 1999; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1999–January 2, 2000. [exh. cat.]

New Faces, New Places: Recent Additions to the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 14–December 31, 2000.

Héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]

American Classics: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 26–September 1, 2002.

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.

A Rich Simplicity: Folk Art from the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 7–September 21, 2003.

American Classics, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 13, 2003–February 8, 2004.

A Narrative of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 13–October 31, 2004.

Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, NY and Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, IL (organizers). Venues: National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China, February 9-April–5, 2007; Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China, April 30–June 30, 2007; Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China, April 30-June 30, 2007 (Shanghai presentations ran concurrently); The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia, July 23–September 9, 2007; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain, October 15, 2007–April 27, 2008 (exhibited in Beijing and Shanghai; exhibited in Bilbao). [exh. cat.]

Manifest Destiny, Manifest Responsibility: Environmentalism and the Art of the American Landscape, Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois and Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venue: Loyola University Museum of Art, May 17–August 10, 2008. [exh. cat.]

Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, October 2009–October 2012.

Art Across America, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venues: National Museum of Korea, Seoul, February 4– May 12, 2013; Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, South Korea, June 7–September 1, 2013. [exh. cat.]

America: Painting a Nation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (organizers). Venue: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, November 9, 2013–February 8, 2014. [exh. cat]

Edward Hicks, 1780–1849: A Special Exhibition Devoted to His Life and Work. (exh. cat., Abby Aldrich Folk Art Collection). Williamsburg, Virginia: Abby Aldrich Folk Art Collection, 1960. No. 15, p. 12.

Three Self-Taught Pennsylvania Artists: Hicks, Kane, Pippin. (exh. cat., Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Institute Press, 1966, p. 4.

Edward Hicks: A Gentle Spirit. (exh. cat., Andrew Crispo Gallery, Inc.). New York: Andrew Crispo Gallery, Inc., 1975. Ill. no. 4 (color).

Mather, Eleanore Price and Dorothy Canning Miller. Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdoms and Other Paintings. East Brunswick, New Jersey: Associated University Presses, 1983. Text no. 14, p. 107; ill. no. 14, p. 107 (black & white).

Christie's, New York, New York (Sale HICKS-7604, January 22, 1993): lot 386. Text p. 114; ill. lot 386, p. 115 (color).

Christie's International Magazine, New York, New York (January/February 1993): 6, 40. Text p. 6; ill. p. 40.

A Peaceable Kingdom with Quakers Bearing Banners, Edward Hicks. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 1994. Ill. (black & white).

Weekley, Carolyn J. The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks. Williamsburg and New York: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1999. Text pp. 62, 121, 123, no. 16, p. 194; fig. 37, p. 63 (color detail), fig. 106, p. 114 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text pp. 10, 11, 23 (checklist); fig. 3, p. 10 (black & white), ill. p. 27 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. L'Héroïque et le quotidian: les artistes américains, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text pp. 10, 11, 23 (checklist); fig. 3, p. 10 (black & white), ill. p. 27 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 44, 198; ill. pp. 4 (color), 45 (color), 198 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 44, 198; ill. pp. 4 (color), 45 (color), 198 (black & white).

Kennedy, Elizabeth. "The Terra Museum of American Art." American Art Review (December 2002): 126–41. Text p. 138.

Davidson, Susan, ed. Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation. (exh. cat., National Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai Museum). New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Chicago, IL: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. (Chinese and English version; citing English version). Text p. 53-54; ill. p. 112 (color).

Davidson, Susan, ed. Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation. (exh. cat., The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia). New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Chicago, IL: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. (Russian version). Ill. p. 71 (color).

Davidson, Susan, ed. Art in the USA: 300 años de innovación. (exh. cat., Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain). New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Chicago, IL: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. (Spanish version). Ill. p. 78 (color).

Brownlee, Peter John. Manifest Destiny / Manifest Responsibility: Environmentalism and the Art of the American Landscape. (exh. cat., Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, Illinois). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art and Loyola University Museum of Art, 2008. Text pp. 26, 36 (checklist); Ill. Pl. 4, p. 43 (color).

Art Across America. (exh. cat., National Museum of Korea, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Terra Foundation for American Art). Seoul, South Korea: National Museum of Korea, 2013. (English and Korean versions). Text pp. 35, 147; ill. fig. 15, p. 35 (color), p. 146 (color).

America: Painting a Nation. (exh. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the National Museum of Korea, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Terra Foundation for American Art). Sydney, Australia: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2013. Text p. 64; ill. cat. no. 9, p. 65 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 20-23, 33; fig. 3, p. 21; ill. p. 33 (color).