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Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Ed Pollard-2008.
The Declaration of Independence, 1776
Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Ed Pollard-2008.
Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Ed Pollard-2008.

The Declaration of Independence, 1776

Artist Edward Hicks (American, 1780-1849)
Dateca. 1840
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall, Support: 26 x 29 1/2 in. (66 x 74.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 30 x 33 1/2 in. (76.2 x 85.1 cm)
25 3/4 x 29 1/4 in. (65.4 x 74.3 cm)
ClassificationsAmerican art
Credit LineGift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Object number76.53.1
Terms
  • People
  • History
  • American
  • U.S. history
  • Red
  • Blue
  • Green
  • Black
  • Yellow
  • Brown
  • American naive
Collections
On View
On view
DescriptionThis is on oil on canvas painting. The viewer is given a slightly omniscient view of this scene, similar to actors on a stage. The characters are numerous and nearly without distinction. The heads are done isocephaly, with figure size as the only indication of background and foreground. The panels of the doors in the background are also unsymmetrical. Thomas Jefferson, having red hair and a dark blue suit with a red vest, is identified for the viewer as important: he is in the front of the stage and is the only one wearing red. Benjamin Franklin is on his left. The others move as the group to the front to sign the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.

Label TextEdward Hicks American, 1780–1849 The Declaration of Independence, 1776, ca. 1840 Oil on canvas Washington at the Delaware, ca. 1849 Oil on canvas Though self-taught artist Edward Hicks lived in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, he encountered many of America’s greatest paintings through prints and books. These two copies pay homage to John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence and Thomas Sully’s Passage of the Delaware, both celebrating famous moments from the American Revolution. Paintings by Hicks allowed modest households to display their patriotic spirit, and the artist also decorated carriages and tavern signs with these same subjects. In addition to painting, Hicks was a Quaker preacher, and many of his works depict Christian allegories and biblical scenes. Gifts of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch 76.53.1 and 77.1271
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