The Grave of William Penn

Date1847

Artist Edward Hicks (1780-1849)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Bucks County

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 24 x 30in. (61 x 76.2cm) and Framed: 30 1/2 x 36 5/8 x 2 1/8in.

Credit LineGift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Object number1932.101.2,A

DescriptionA peaceful landscape dominated by a large building in the left middle ground, a stone fence running diagonally across the composition in front of it. In the right foreground, a man is glimpsed through a clump of trees. He herds a group of cattle and sheep along a road running diagonally down toward the lower right corner. The gate in the fence running in front of the building is open; outside the fenced enclosure, a group of men stand around a grave; other people and a coach are visible in front of the building. A wooded landscape dominates the distance.

The 3 5/8-inch, splayed, mahogny-veneered frame has a quarter-round molded outer edge and is original.
Label TextIn all, Hicks rendered six versions of this tribute to William Penn (1644-1718), English Quaker and founder of the artist's home state of Pennsylvania. All six versions feature the same basic format, which was derived from a lithograph after a painting by Hendrik Frans de Cort (1742-1810).
InscribedIn brown paint along the lower edge of the composition is "The Grave of Wm PENN at Jordans in England." On the original top stretcher in black paint is "Painted by E. Hicks in his 68th year, For his friend Ann Drake."
ProvenanceAnn Drake; to an unidentified descendent; to Edith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, NY; to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who was CWF's donor.