Peaceable Kingdom 1846

Edward Hicks made this painting with oil on canvas, a common method but one that still required a lot of labor in preparing both the paint and the fabric. The ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ is interesting because Hicks trained as a coach painter, a decorative craft, before becoming a Quaker minister. This background gives us a different lens through which to view his art. Look closely and you'll see that Hicks’s way of working has a lot in common with folk art traditions: he emphasized clarity and legibility, and didn't create strong tonal contrasts. His painting style is flat, and his forms are simplified, resulting in a slightly naive quality. This was very different from the academic painting of his time. For Hicks, making art was a way to express his religious beliefs, and as someone who earned a living through craft, he brought his own work ethic and sense of value to these pieces. This invites us to think about the place of labor, and the significance of craft, in understanding his vision.