Edward Hicks
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk painter
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
, a distinguished minister of the Society of Friends, and he also became a Quaker icon
Cultural icon
A cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group...
because of his paintings.
Early life
Edward Hicks was born in his grandfather's mansion at Attleboro (now LanghorneLanghorne, Pennsylvania
Langhorne is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,622 at the 2010 census.The name "Langhorne" is used broadly to describe the majority of surrounding Middletown Township, which for the most part uses Langhorne's zip code of 19047...
), in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
. His parents were Anglican. Isaac Hicks, his father, was a Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
who was left without any money after the British defeat in the Revolutionary War. After young Edward's mother died when he was eighteen months old, Matron Elizabeth Twining – a close friend of his mother's – raised him as one of her own. She also taught him the Quaker beliefs, which had a great effect on the rest of his life.
At the age of thirteen Hicks began an apprenticeship to coach
Coach (carriage)
A coach was originally a large, usually closed, four-wheeled carriage with two or more horses harnessed as a team, controlled by a coachman and/or one or more postilions. It had doors in the sides, with generally a front and a back seat inside and, for the driver, a small, usually elevated seat in...
makers William and Henry Tomlinson. He stayed with them for seven years, during which he learned the craft of coach painting. In 1800 he left the Tomlinson firm to earn his living independently as a house and coach painter, and in 1801 he moved to Milford to work for Joshua C. Canby, a coach maker.
At this stage of his life Hicks was, as he later wrote in his memoirs, "in my own estimation a weak, wayward young man ... exceedingly fond of singing, dancing, vain amusements, and the company of young people, and too often profanely swearing". Dissatisfied with his life, he started to attend Quaker meetings regularly, and in 1803 he was accepted for membership in the Society of Friends. Later that same year he married a Quaker woman named Sarah Worstall.
Working career
In 1812 his congregation recorded him as a minister, and by 1813 he began traveling throughout Philadelphia as a Quaker preacher. To meet the expenses of traveling, and for the support of his growing family, Hicks decided to expand his trade to painting household objects and farm equipment as well as tavern signs. His painting trade was lucrative, but it upset some in the Quaker community, because it contradicted the plain customs they respected. In 1815 Hicks briefly gave up ornamental painting and attempted to support his family by farming, while also continuing with the plain, utilitarian type of painting that his Quaker neighbors thought acceptable. His financial difficulties only increased, as utilitarian painting was less remunerative, and Hicks did not have the experience he needed to cultivate the land, or run a farm primarily on his own.By 1816, his wife was expecting a fifth child. After a relative of Hicks, at the urging of Hicks' close friend John Comly, talked to him about painting again, Hicks resumed decorative painting. This friendly suggestion saved Hicks from financial disaster, and preserved his livelihood not as a Quaker Minister but as a Quaker artist. Around 1820, Hicks made the first of his many paintings of The Peaceable Kingdom. Hicks' easel paintings were often made for family and friends, not for sale, and decorative painting remained his main source of income.
In 1827 a schism formed within the Religious Society of Friends, between Hicksites (named after Edward Hicks' cousin Elias Hicks
Elias Hicks
Elias Hicks was an itinerant Quaker preacher from Long Island, New York. He promoted doctrines that embroiled him in controversy that led to the first major schism within the Religious Society of Friends...
) and Orthodox Friends. As new settlers swelled Pennsylvania's Quaker community, many branched off into sects whose differences sometimes conflicted with one another, which greatly discouraged Edward Hicks from continuing to preach. Nonetheless, in his lifetime Hicks was better known as a minister than as a painter.
Painting
Quaker beliefs prohibited a lavish life or having excessive quantities of objects or materials. Unable to maintain his work as a preacher and painter at the same time, Hicks transitioned into a life of painting, and he used his canvases to convey his beliefs. He was unconfined by rules of his congregation, and able to freely express what religion could not: the human conception of faith.Although it is not considered a religious image, Hicks' Peaceable Kingdom exemplifies Quaker ideals. Hicks painted 61 versions of this composition. The animals and children are taken from Isaiah 11:6-8 (also echoed in Isaiah 65:25), including the lion eating straw with the ox. Hicks used his paintings as a way to define his central interest, which was the quest for a redeemed soul. This theme was also from one of his theological beliefs.
Hicks' work was influenced by a specific Quaker belief referred to as the Inner Light. George Fox
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
was the Quaker chief, along with other formulators who established and preached the Inner Light doctrine. Fox explained that along with scriptural knowledge, many individuals achieve salvation by yielding one's self-will to the divine power of Christ and the "Christ within". This "Christ in You" concept was derived from the Bible's Colossians 1:27. Hicks depicted humans and animals to represent the Inner Light's idea of breaking physical barriers (of difference between two individuals) to working and living together in peace. Many of his paintings further exemplify this concept with depictions of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
meeting the settlers of Pennsylvania, with William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
prominent among them.
Hicks admired Penn as an opponent of British power in America, and he hoped that Penn could help ensure reform. Like Penn, Hicks opposed Britain's hierarchy. Hicks most esteemed Penn for establishing the treaty of Pennsylvania with the Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, because it was a state that strongly fostered the Quaker community.
Exhibition
Edward Hicks' first major exhibition took place in 1960 at Williamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
. It got mixed reviews due to Hicks' habit of repeating various arrangements over and over again. Hicks' earliest presentation of work was in 1826. Kingdoms of the Branch, was at that time in the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
. Hicks used Penn and the Native Americans to paraphrase Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
's prophecy, in full.
His work often focused on religious subject matter while using current events to portray them. Hicks conveyed meaning through symbols, and depicted predators (such as lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s) and prey (such as lamb
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
s) next to each other to show a theme of peace. Peaceable Kingdoms of the Branch (1826–30), is now located in Reynolda House, Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC. It is a notable example of Hicks' legacy.
The work
Hicks' works display similarities from painting to painting. For example, his 1834 version of "Peaceable Kingdom" and 1845 version of "The Residence of David Twining" offer many comparisons (please see first two paintings displayed below). First, the right area of both paintings appears to be the most congested area, in which the size of each object seems to reflect its importance regardless of its position in space. Both paintings show humans and animals interacting together, and evoke a sense of community because the people are portrayed as trying to accomplish something. In the case of "Peaceable Kingdom", there are settlers in the background, signing a treaty with the Native Americans.Calmness and peace, rather than abrupt action, characterize Hicks' compositions. Many of the shapes and forms in his work appear to be organic, flowing and soft. One must pay close attention to the gestures of individuals and animals in his paintings to derive meaning. Hicks uses small detail variations as a way to force a viewers to pay attention to content because they are deliberate and purposeful.
Although none of his paintings are completely identical, there are certain compositional structures and patterns Hicks follows within all of his work. Although the space may appear shallow on the picture plane of these paintings, depth is created through objects and objects size, and secondarily by light and shadows. The foreground, middle ground and background are all defined by objects, animals, landscape, humans, and skylines.
Hicks almost always paints outdoor scenes, in which the light source is the sun or sky. The color schemes of his work are not complicated, and within a painting such as "Peaceable Kingdom" many of the colors have the same warmth or brown tone. This is another way that Hicks' tries to convey "uniformity" or peace. Most of these paintings are asymmetrically balanced, to reflect actions taking place between groups of people and animals within the work.
Below are some quotes from the Quaker preacher and artist on art and religion: Christendom appears clearly to me to be one of those trifling, insignificant arts, which has never been of any substantial advantage to mankind.
If the Christian world was in the real spirit of Christ, I do not believe there would be such a thing as a fine painter in Christendom.
Selected works and their locations
- The Residence of David Twining 1785. (1846), American Folk Art MuseumAmerican Folk Art MuseumThe American Folk Art Museum is a museum devoted to American folk art, as well as the work of international self-taught artists. It has branches at 45 West 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, in Midtown Manhattan .In May 2011 the Museum of Modern Art bought its 53rd Street location...
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... - The Peaceable Kingdom, c. 1833, Worcester Art MuseumWorcester Art MuseumThe Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 35,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day, representing cultures from all over the world. The WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is the second largest art museum in New England...
in Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester, MassachusettsWorcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston.... - The Falls of Niagara, c. 1825, and The Peaceable Kingdom, ca. 1830-1832, Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... - Penn's Treaty With the Indians, c. 1830–1840, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
- Noah's Ark, 1846 and The Peaceable Kingdom, c. 1844–1846, the Philadelphia Museum of ArtPhiladelphia Museum of ArtThe Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, Philadelphia - Grave of William Penn, 1847, Newark MuseumNewark MuseumThe Newark Museum is the largest museum in New Jersey, USA. It holds fine collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the ancient world...
in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S... - The Cornell Farm, 1848; The Grave of William Penn, c. 1847–1848; The Landing of Columbus, c. 1837; The Peaceable Kingdom, c. 1834; Penn's Treaty With the Indians, c. 1840–1844; and Portrait of a Child, c. 1840, at the National Gallery of ArtNational Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in Washington, D. C. - The Peaceable Kingdom, 1830–1832, Montgomery Museum of Fine ArtsMontgomery Museum of Fine ArtsThe Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is a museum located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, featuring several art collections. For seventy years, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts has been a showcase for the visual arts in Central Alabama...
, MontgomeryMontgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
Sources
- Bauman, J. For The Reputation of Truth. London: 1971.
- Hicks, E., & Mather, E. P. Edward Hicks: A gentle spirit. New York: Andrew Crispo Gallery, 1975.
- Hicks, Edward, Memoirs of the Life and Religious Labors of Edward Hicks late of Newtown. Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Written by himself. Philadelphia: Merrihew & Thomson. Printers. No. 7 Carter's Alley. 1851.
- Hicks, Edward, Memoirs of the Life and Religious Labors of Edward Hicks. Applewood Books, 2009 ISBN 1429018852,
- Morrison, C.M. Remember William PennWilliam PennWilliam Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
1644. William Penn's Religion. Pennsylvania: 1703. - Saliner, Sharon. To Serve Well and Faithfully. London: 1862.
- Twinning. Hicks, 1780-1849. Abby Aldrich RockefellerAbby Aldrich RockefellerAbby Aldrich Rockefeller, , was a prominent socialite and philanthropist and the second-generation matriarch of the renowned Rockefeller family...
American Folk Art MuseumAmerican Folk Art MuseumThe American Folk Art Museum is a museum devoted to American folk art, as well as the work of international self-taught artists. It has branches at 45 West 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, in Midtown Manhattan .In May 2011 the Museum of Modern Art bought its 53rd Street location...
, 2008. - Vlach, John. Quaker Tradition and the Paintings of Edward A Stratgey for the Study of Folk Art, JSTORJSTORJSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
. New York: American Folk Society, 1981. - Weekley, Carolyn J., and Laura Pass Barry. The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks. Williamsburg, Va: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1999.
External links
- The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum
- Hicks Quotes
- American Folk Art Museum in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- The Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester, MassachusettsWorcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
- The Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
- The Newark Museum: American Art in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
- The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC