# The Grave of William Penn

**Edward Hicks** (American, 1780–1849)  
c. 1847/1848  
oil on canvas  
overall: 60.4 x 75.5 cm (23 3/4 x 29 3/4 in.) framed: 81.4 x 96.5 cm (32 1/16 x 38 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980.62.12. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.59905.html).

## About this work

Herdsmen rest beneath a tree with a dog, a basket and a herd of cows and sheep, while in the distance figures and a wagon gather before a large house on a hill. The setting is Jordans in Buckinghamshire, where William Penn, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, was buried in 1718. Edward Hicks, himself a Quaker minister, painted the scene in the last years of his life, and as was his habit he lettered an inscription onto the canvas, here on a patch of ground at lower left. The pastel sky and gentle, orderly landscape make Penn’s resting place an image of the peace he stood for.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Edward Hicks painted this in about 1847/1848, aged about 67. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

This painting shows a pastoral setting with a large white-and-gray house on a hill to the left. Distant people stand in front of the house, along with a horse-drawn wagon. In the bottom right corner, two people sit in the grass under a tree, one dressed in red holding a tall crook and the other wearing a black garment and a yellow hat and petting a large brown-and-white dog. There is a basket on the ground between them, and next to them is a large herd of cows and sheep, all resting on the grass. The landscape includes trees with green leaves and yellow hills in the distance. The sky above is in pastel shades of pink and blue, with fluffy clouds. In the bottom left, a patch of yellow ground has several lines of text written over it.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Edward Hicks](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/edward-hicks)

American, 1780–1849; born in Langhorne, Pennsylvania; died in Newtown, Pennsylvania

Hicks was a Quaker minister in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who earned his living as a coach and sign painter. He is best known for the Peaceable Kingdom, a subject drawn from Isaiah’s prophecy of animals lying down together, which he painted more than sixty times, often with William Penn’s treaty with the Lenape in the background. The pictures reflect his faith and the divisions within his own Quaker community. He also painted farm scenes and historical subjects.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was about 67
- Real size: about 24 × 30 in (60 × 76 cm). The 20 × 30 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: Landscape, United Kingdom, England, Buckinghamshire, Jordans
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1597.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1597/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-grave-of-william-penn-nga-59905).