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Originally trained as a coach painter, Quaker minister Edward Hicks is best remembered for his iconic series of Peaceable Kingdom paintings, which depict a biblical prophecy in the Book of Isaiah: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” Hicks likely viewed the prophecy as a central and concise statement of key Quaker principles, with each animal representing moral and religious beliefs as well as traits of human nature. Read More

Robert Vickrey (1926-2011) began his studies at Wesleyan University, and then transferred to Yale University, where he earned a bachelor of art’s degree in 1947. After graduating, he moved to New York City and studied with Reginald Marsh at the Art Students League, drawing influence from Marsh’s paintings of the bustling city streets. Vickrey returned to Yale a year later and spent the next two years working towards his bachelor of fine arts, which he received in 1950. At Yale, Vickrey developed his signature style, which continued for the next six decades of his career. Read More

Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828), considered one of America’s most accomplished portraitists, painted over one thousand portraits over the course of his career. He is best known, however, for his many paintings of the first President of the United States, George Washington. Stuart first painted the president in 1795, and at the urging of Martha Washington, her husband again sat for a portrait a year later, in 1796. Rather than completing this work, which came to be known as the Athenaeum Portrait and today is jointly owned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the National Portrait Gallery, Stuart deliberately left the painting unfinished. Read More

Trent Tile Company was one of several tile manufacturers located in Trenton, New Jersey in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The company, which opened as Harris Manufacturing in 1882 and changed its name to Trent Tile in 1883, produced tiles featuring figures, plant and animal life, and patterns which were used to decorate everything from fireplace mantels to doorframes in private homes and businesses alike. At this time, ceramic tiles grew to be an integral component of the Arts and Crafts Movement in America, and companies like Trent Tile capitalized on customers’ desires to own finely made decorative items. Read More

Charles Hawthorne (1872-1930) grew up in Richmond, Maine, and moved to New York City in 1890 at the age of eighteen to pursue an art education. He attended classes at the Art Students League for several years, and in 1896, he enrolled in William Merritt Chase’s summer school at Shinnecock on Long Island, quickly becoming Chase’s favorite student and assistant. Hawthorne traveled abroad in 1898, and on his return to America in 1899, he founded his own summer art school in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Read More