Edward Hicks’s "Peaceable Kingdom" to be Sold at Sotheby’s

By ARTINFO

Published: March 26, 2008

Edward Hicks Newsmakers: 1999–2009 When Ishmael Called Collector Sues Christie’s Collector Countersues Sotheby’s Sotheby's Sues "Peaceable Kingdom" Buyer for Payment 2008 Winter Antiques Show: A Fair Fair American Art

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NEW YORK—The folk art collector Ralph Esmerian will not donate his version of Edward Hicks’s painting The Peaceable Kingdom with the Leopard of Serenity (1848) to the American Folk Art Museum as intended, but will instead sell it at Sotheby’s in a May sale of American paintings, Bloomberg reports. The painting has been on loan to the museum since 2000.

Recent reports have claimed that Esmerian, a jewelry dealer, is going through financial difficulties. A lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court states that he owes Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital about $185.3 million.

“It's the economics of life, unfortunately,'' Esmerian said. “Suddenly in the last year, we've had pressures from the marketplace to clear up a few debts.''

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“It's tragic that the painting is not going to be given outright to the Folk Art Museum as was contemplated,'' he added.

Hicks, a minister and a sign painter in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, used his art to promote Quaker doctrines. He made at least 62 versions of The Peaceable Kingdom. An 1849 rendering sold at Christie's in January 2007 for $6.2 million. Esmerian’s version is reported to be in excellent condition and carries an estimate of $8 million.

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