N@tM 2023 Gallery

Photo

The Peaceable Kingdom

Edward Hicks

2027

The painting consists of British colonists and Indigenous people arriving at a place where wild animals and humans coexists. There exists a close up of children interacting with wild animals such as lions, tigers, cows, sheep’s, etc while the Indigenous people and the colonists are in the background.

What do you see going on in this work of art? Is there a story depicted?

I see peace and harmony in one perspective and the opposite of that peace in another perspective. The view of the children with the animals displays a utopia that does not reflect reality while the view of the colonists and indigenous people displays conflict and dispute.

What different visual elements (ie: line, color, light, proportions, scale, composition, media type etc.) do you notice, and how do they help you make sense of the artwork?

The display of the peace and harmony is shown in a closer perspective, zooming in on the emphasis of a utopia with darker tones. While the display of the colonists and indigenous people are shown further away but are depicted in lighter colors allowing the audience to view the scene clearly.

What choices do you think the museum made about the object’s display?

It was placed right in front of the elevators allowing the audience to see this painting when they first walk in. This is similar to the colonists first walking in to the new land.

Group Members

Name (first and last) Campus Seminar 1 Professor
Jennifer Huang Hunter college Margarit Ordukhanyan
Katherine Chen Hunter College Susanna Cole