born April 4, 1780, Attleboro, Pa., U.S.
died Aug. 23, 1849, Newtown, Pa.
U.S. painter.
He was a coach and sign painter from an early age. In middle age he began to produce paintings of farm scenes and landscapes in a naive, or folk, style. Fearing that art was contrary to his Quaker religion but believing that it might bring meaning to life, he often framed his pictures with edifying verse. He painted his best-known subject, The Peaceable Kingdom , about 100 times; some 25 versions survive. In this charming Quaker pageant, William Penn appears on the left making his treaty with the Native Americans, while beasts are gathered on the right with little children playing among them.
The Cornell Farm , oil on canvas by Edward Hicks, 1848; in the National Gallery of Art, ...
By courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch