Peaceable Kingdom 1846

Curator: Edward Hicks painted this piece, "Peaceable Kingdom," in 1846. Just looking at it, it's quite a literal depiction, wouldn’t you say? Editor: Oh, intensely. And instantly unsettling! All those animals… sheep cozying up to wolves. It feels like forced harmony, you know? A visual pressure cooker. Curator: Exactly! It is quite potent. Hicks created numerous versions of this theme; he found constant resonance. Notice the background scene of William Penn’s treaty with the Lenape Indians, a very clear connection to the promise of reconciliation, isn’t it? Editor: It is, but that treaty, and that history… it's so laden with complexity. The painting's naivete almost feels like a deliberate avoidance, or a heavy gloss on incredibly difficult history. The child taming the beast seems equally burdened, right? Like a fairy tale imposed on a harsh reality. Curator: A really valid point. Hicks was a Quaker minister as well as a painter. So his faith undoubtedly played a huge role here, speaking to the hope, or perhaps aspiration, of the divine actively mediating the brutalities in both the animal kingdom and humankind. And that vision certainly would influence the interpretation of those treaties and colonial history. Editor: It certainly shows how art becomes this powerful vehicle for wishful thinking, for imagining social change—even if the image can't possibly deliver on that promise in its historical context. It’s like this permanent, gentle reminder of what *could* be. Curator: Yes! And there it stands, this folk vision of serenity. Ultimately it acts as both critique and balm. Something for the soul, but with that critical awareness simmering underneath. Editor: A potent image indeed. It makes you ponder how often we choose to envision peace, even when, perhaps especially when, reality tells a very different story.