Noah’s Ark by Edward Hicks

“Noah’s Ark” by Edward Hicks depicts the vessel in the Genesis flood narrative through which God spares Noah, his family, and the animals from a world-engulfing flood. Noah and his family built the ark according to the instructions from God. The ark had a door on the side. The roof was made of Gopher wood, which was smeared with a form of pitch resin. This painting shows a curving line of animals lining up and entering Noah’s ark. The line includes prancing horses and a lion, which looks out at the viewer, while pairs of zebras, elegant, giraffes, camels, tigers, and hippopotamuses make their way to the side door of the ark. Above the ark, birds are fly down from the dark, rain-filled clouds overhead into the window above the door. The artist was a Quaker minister who had reconciled his passion for painting with his Quaker ideas of simplicity and plainness. He mainly painted landscapes, history, and religious art for his family and friends in Pennsylvania. He did not paint portraits or other symbols of self-indulgence, which were not consistent with his religious beliefs. The animals that Hicks depicted in this painting resemble the style he used in his earlier representations of his favorite biblical subject, Isaiah’s prophecy of “The Peaceable Kingdom.” The cooperative animals express Hicks’s Quaker belief in humanity’s ability to live together harmoniously with nature. Calmness and peace, rather than action, characterize Hicks’ compositions. Many of the shapes and forms in his work appear to be organic, flowing, and soft. One must pay close attention to the gestures of animals in his paintings to derive meaning. Hicks uses small detail variations as a way to encourage viewers to pay attention to content because they are deliberate and purposeful. As the popularity of folk art emerged in the early 20th century, Hicks’s works were popularized and became the focus of art historian’s attention. Edward Hicks became a Quaker icon because of his paintings.