Penn's Treaty

This "Penn’s Treaty," with its large size and monumental figures, underscores the significance of this subject to Edward Hicks and his patrons, personally and spiritually. It may have been made for a specific person or use, as was the case for Hicks’s largest canvases. Hicks was capable of painting in a more realistic style, but frequently chose not to, because the visual arts were viewed as contrary to Quaker beliefs in simplicity and plain, utilitarian living. In his later years, however, he exercised more freedom in his selection of painting subjects and style.