Edward Hicks (1780-1849)
Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Famed primitive artist. His subjects included farmscapes & Biblical scenes; he painted more than fifty versions of The Peaceable Kingdom, based on a prophecy of Isaiah. Also a coach & sign painter; a Quaker preacher. Lived here on Penn Street, 1821-49.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On this Bucks County street lived one of America's most beloved folk painters, a self-taught Quaker who supported himself lettering coaches and signs while creating art that would outlast him. He returned again and again to a single vision of peace drawn from the prophet Isaiah, painting dozens of versions of animals and children resting together in harmony. A preacher as well as a painter, he wove his faith and his craft into images that still hang in major museums.
Why it matters
His work stands as a cornerstone of American folk art, proof that some of the nation's most enduring images came from ordinary tradesmen rather than trained academies.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Edward Hicks
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
The First Weather Satellite
Newtown, PA · est. 2001
In 1960, the Lavelle Aircraft Corporation built TIROS 1 here, the world's first experimental and operational weather satellite. Pioneering satellite television techniques, TIROS relayed the first TV image made from space, opening a new window on Earth's clouds and storms. Its success led to a line of improved satellites that transformed the science of meteorology.
John Fitch's Steamboat
Warminster Township, PA · est. 1947
In 1785, near this spot, the inventor John Fitch tested a working model of a steamboat, years before such vessels became a familiar sight on American rivers. Before his death in 1798 he built four mechanically successful steamboats, the first in the United States, even running a passenger service on the Delaware. Yet the ventures never turned a profit, and lasting commercial success would fall to Robert Fulton two decades later.
George Nakashima (1905-1990)
Solebury Township, PA · est. 2010
Here in the wooded hills of Bucks County, George Nakashima built one of the guiding spirits of the American craft movement into wood and stone. An architect turned master woodworker, he designed furniture that let the grain, knots, and natural edges of a plank speak for themselves, earning international acclaim. On this land he wove together landscape, buildings, and interiors into a single integrated creative environment.
Harold F. Pitcairn
Bryn Athyn, PA · est. 1972
In 1924 aviation pioneer Harold F. Pitcairn established his first flying field on this site, launching decades of experimentation in flight. He and his associates developed the American autogiro—an aircraft with a free-spinning rotor that pointed toward the eventual helicopter—and won the prestigious 1930 Collier Trophy for the achievement. This quiet Montgomery County ground was an early laboratory of American aeronautical innovation.