The Quakers austere decor was the result of an anti papist stand they had made in their earliest beginnings. However, their illustrious work ethic had made many of them quite prosperous in the new world. Naturally, the silhouette by its nature, simple, definitive and austere proved to be one of the few acceptable art forms to hang on the walls of their pristine homes. So while others in the upper classes of the colonies employed artists to paint themselves and family members, the Quakers proudly displayed themselves in silhouette form both as wall hangings and in treasured family albums.

The silhouettes on this page were cut by the Nineteenth Century French silhouette artist August Edouart and are from some of those preserved Quaker family albums. It should be carefully noted that Elias Hicks, the standing figure, is the uncle of Edwards Hicks, the primitive painter of the Peaceable Kingdom paintings that comprise the largest and most prolific body of early American primitive paintings in this country. And it is ironic that Edward Hicks, the painter, was a Quaker elder like his uncle who is depicted in the silhouette on the extreme right.