Edward Hicks House

Edward Hicks House. Newtown Heritage Walk No. 3. , Edward Hicks (1780-1849), son of Isaac and Catherine Hicks, was a Quaker minister, sign painter and folk artist, most famous for over sixty versions of his Peaceable Kingdom paintings. Born in Langhorne, his mother died when he was young, and Hicks was raised by David and Elizabeth Twining on their farm in Newtown Township. After an apprenticeship in Attleborough (now Langhorne) and an eleven-year stint as junior partner of a coach maker in Milford (now Hulmeville), Hicks moved to Newtown in 1811 with his wife Sarah Worstall and his children to go into business for himself. They moved into the Thornton/Hicks house on Court Street next to the Half Moon Inn. Hicks opened a shop in his back yard and carried on his busines of coach and sign painting., Besides signs, Hicks also painted what his fellow Quakers sometimes disapprovingly called "ornamentals" - pictures of landscapes, people, historical events, and animals. His Peaceable Kingdom paintings illustrate Isaiah 11:6-9, using groupings of children and wild and tame animals in loving intimacy, with William Penn in the background, signing his treaty with the Indians., Hicks was a central figure in establishing a Friends Meeting in Newtown. He worked with fellow Quakers to become involved with the major social concerns of his day: peace, temperance, education, poverty and race relations. He traveled as a Quaker minister, and sometimes worked as a janitor and grave digger., In 1821, Hicks built this stone house located at 122 Penn Street. He built his coach shop in the back yard and his paint shop above the carriage house, which adjoined his home. The artist's reputation as a sign and coach painter grew quickly. Isaac Worstall Hicks, his only son, built the stone manor home across the street at 123 Penn Street in 1833. Isaac apprenticed under his father and together they operated under the name, "Edward Hicks and Son" in the 1830s and 1840s. Edward Hicks resided in Newtown until his death in 1849. He is buried in the Friends Meeting burial ground; his memorial service on the grounds drew 5,000 people and was reportedly the largest funeral in Bucks County at that time.