Peaceable Kingdom 1846

Edward Hicks painted this scene, titled "Peaceable Kingdom," teeming with potent symbols of harmony and reconciliation. The lion lying down with the lamb, the child guiding the leopard—these are direct visual quotations from the Book of Isaiah, evoking a utopian vision of universal peace. This motif of animals in concord is not unique to Hicks. Echoes of it reverberate through history, from ancient Near Eastern depictions of animals coexisting peacefully in the Garden of Eden to similar scenes found in medieval bestiaries. Yet, here, in the context of 19th-century America, it takes on a particularly poignant resonance. The image becomes an emblem of a deeply felt yearning, a collective dream of overcoming conflict and division. This dream, however, is not linear. It resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings, always carrying with it the weight of our shared hopes and fears.