NOAH'S ARK
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Edward Hicks was born in Pennsylvania in 1780. His mother died the very next year. After her death he was cared for by a slave until at the age of three he was found by Elizabeth Twining and taken in and raised in their Quaker family. His father promised to pay them a certain amount each year and he was never adopted by the Twinings. He didn't do well in school, so his parents decided he should work for a coachmaker. He enjoyed this very much and learned skills which helped him to become a painter.
He married and he and his wife Sarah had four children. At one time he became very ill, and as a result, he began to think more seriously about his life. He started attending the Quaker church.They believed in peace and brotherly love.
He was making a living as a coachmaker. He would paint signs and coaches, but he was interested in becoming a minister. He was a popular preacher. As he studied the Bible, he concentrated on the book of Isaiah. He especially liked the part in Isaiah 11 where the prophet wrote,"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 fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."He began painting pictures about "The Peaceable Kingdom". In fact, he painted at least 60, and some say 100 pictures with this title. In this version we see the children playing safely with the wild animals which are now tame and harmless. In the background across the chasm William Penn is negotiating a treaty with the Indians.
Edward Hicks made a painting of William Penn's Treaty with the Indians in 1847. He based his work on an earlier painting by Benjamin West. In 1771 Thomas Penn, William Penn's son commissioned Benjamin West to record the event with the painting. Compare the two paintings. How do they differ in style? How are the paintings alike? How are they different?
Peaceable Kingdom
Enlarged view
Penn's Treaty With the Indians
by Edward HicksEnlarged view
The Treaty of Penn With the Indians
by Benjamin WestEnlarged view
Edward Hicks was a self-taught artist and painted for his own pleasure and for people in his area. He became an art teacher later in his life and lived to be 69 years old. He painted The Cornell Farm in the last year of his life. He identifies it as "An Indian summer view of the Farm and Stock of James C. Cornell of Northampton Bucks county Pennsylvania", and he also states in the inscription that he painted it in the 69th year of his life.
When Edward Hicks was just a little child he went to live with the David Twining family and 60+ years later he painted the farm as he remembered it. At one time years later the painting sold for $1,432,500. A few minutes after that sale a Peaceable Kingdom painting by Hicks sold for $4,732,500.
The story of Noah, which is the basis for our featured picture, can be found in the Bible in Genesis chapters 6-9.
The Cornell Farm
Enlarged view
The Estate of David Twining
Enlarged view
References:
Ford, Alice. Edward Hicks Painter of the Peaceable Kingdom. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1952
RESEARCH LINKS
Biography of Edward Hicks
National Gallery of Art
Edward Hicks
analysis of "The Peaceable Kingdom"
Washington at the Delaware
painting by Edward Hicks
More paintings by Edward Hicks
Different Versions of Peaceable Kingdom
The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks
Antiques and the Arts Online
Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom
Lesson plan
The Peaceable Kingdom
art lesson - elementary.
Learning Activities for The Peaceable Kingdom
American Art - The Phillips Collection
Focus On Artists, Grades 4-8
By Teacher Created Resources
Art broadens horizons and allows children to see and evaluate are as they see art as a piece of individual human expression. Students will learn about famous and not-so-famous artists as well as the historical periods in which they lived--Renaissance & Baroque, 19th Century and 20th Century. Each lesson provides an overview with the focus, activity and vocabulary words; the lesson includes a materials list and instructions. Extensions activities and an introduction to each artist are also included. 112 reproducible pages, softcover. Grades 4-8.A LIBRARY OF
ONLINE BOOKS and BOOK PREVIEWS
Sermons delivered by Elias Hicks and Edward Hicks
1825 (full view)
Preview these Amazon books using the links below.
Edward Hicks, Painter of the Peaceable Kingdom
by Alice Ford (selected pages)
Memoirs of the Life and Religious Labors of Edward Hicks
by Edward Hicks 1851 (full view)
The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks
by Carolyn J. Weekley and Laura Pass Barry (Review, no preview)
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Famous Artists in this Series
Index to Famous Paintings
Art Appreciation
Lessons for Kids
Art Gallery Famous Paintings Volume 1
Art Gallery Famous Paintings Volume 2
Puzzles on these pages courtesy of
Songs of Praise and Armored Penguin
Graphic, "Noah's Ark" by Edward Hicks, 1780-1849,
courtesy of CGFA Virtual Art Museum
Pictures courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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