Edward Hicks (American, 1780-1849) Peaceable Kingdom, ca. 1848 Oil on canvas, 23 7/8 x 31 7/8" James G. Forsyth Fund, 1940

It is thought that Edward Hicks painted the theme of the Peaceable Kingdom as many as one hundred times. There are several possible reasons for his attachment to the subject, including his love of children and animals and his devotion to the Bible. A more complex explanation involved the fact that he was a Quaker minister, and Quakers disapproved of nonutilitarian art such as easel painting. However, because Hicks knew no other profitable trade and since Quaker ministers were not permitted salaries, he needed the income from his painting to support his large family. The Peaceable Kingdom, as a religious subject and a kind of visual sermon, perhaps helped Hicks to justify his vocation.

The theme comes from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter XI, Verses 6-9, in the Bible, interpreted by Christianity as a prophecy of the coming of Christ and the arrival of a peaceful world, in which all animals and human beings live in harmony and prosperity. The painting follows Isaiah closely in its details, and all of the following vignettes described in the Bible passage are included: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb [center], And the leopard shall lie down with the kid [center foreground]; And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them [lower right corner]. And the cow and the bear shall feed [next to the tree in the upper right];…And the lion shall eat straw like the ox [right center]. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den [lower left]."

The pairing of animals in this fashion might also refer to a recent division within the Quaker faith. One faction focused on the Bible and Christ’s atonement, while Hicks’s faction placed emphasis on the Holy Spirit, which he referred to as the Inner Light. In 1837, he presented a sermon that related the idea of the Inner Light to the animals. He explained that every person belongs to one of the four temperaments, each of which is symbolized by one of the wild animals: melancholy–the wolf; sanguine (cheerful, hopeful)–the leopard; phlegmatic (calm and composed)–the bear; and choleric (angry)–the lion. When these are redeemed by the Inner Light, they become their domestic opposites: the lamb, the kid, the cow, and the ox. The painting could thus reflect the resolution of inner conflicts that are experienced by all individuals and Hicks’s own challenge to Quaker beliefs about art. The image might also reflect hope that the schism in Quakerism could be peacefully resolved, with antagonists existing contentedly side-by-side.

Hicks also incorporated a non-Biblical reference into his illustration of Isaiah. In the left background, Quaker William Penn, founder of Hicks’s home state of Pennsylvania, lands in the New World and signs a treaty with Native Americans. Hicks believed that this event was part of the process of achieving the "Peaceable Kingdom" here on earth.

— Mariann Smith

SUGGESTIONS FOR HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSION

• Today’s society has many problems. Ask students to draw or paint an image of how they would picture a contemporary "peaceable kingdom."
• Put the names of types of animals in two baskets: one would contain carnivores only and the other herbivores. Divide the class in half: half will draw a slip from the carnivore basket, and the other half from the herbivore. Pair students from one group with students from the other, and have them formulate a dialogue describing how their animals will get along. Each pair can then draw a picture of their animals peaceably coexisting. Put together each pair’s drawings and create a class mural.
• Quakerism is a religion that many people do not understand. Have the students research Quakerism and famous Quakers like William Penn (who is seen in the background of the painting).