Edwin Austin Abbey

Abbey, Henry [Edwin] (1846–96), manager. Characterized by Odell as “a restless genius of far‐reaching vision and managerial astuteness,” he was born in Akron, Ohio, the son of a clockmaker and jeweler. A practice of the time was to sell theatre tickets at jewelry stores, so he began his career as a ticket seller, later doing the same at the Akron Opera House, which he was managing two years later. After running theatres in Buffalo and Boston, Abbey assumed the reins of the Park Theatre in New York City, then also Booth's and Wallack's. He brought great players under his aegis, including Edwin Booth, E. A. Sothern, and Otis Skinner, and was the first to pair William H. Crane and Stuart Robson when he presented them in Our Boarding House (1877). Abbey was equally instrumental in bringing to America many great foreign companies and performers, and for several seasons he ran the Metropolitan Opera. In 1893 he built Abbey's Theatre on Broadway, bringing over Henry Irving and Ellen Terry to open the house. His early death cut short a remarkable career. Some sources give his middle name as Eugene.

(b Philadelphia, PA, 1 April 1852; d London, 1 Aug 1911). American painter and illustrator, active in England. He began his artistic training in 1866, studying drawing with the Philadelphia portrait and landscape painter Isaac L. Williams (1817-95). In 1868 he attended evening classes in drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Christian Schussele (?1824-79). In the same year Abbey began to work as an illustrator for the Philadelphia publishers Van Ingen & Snyder. In 1870 Harper's Weekly published the Puritans' First Thanksgiving, and in 1871 Abbey moved to New York to join the staff of Harper & Brothers, thus inaugurating his most important professional relationship. Throughout the 1870s Abbey's reputation grew, both for his detailed exhibition watercolours and for his elegant line drawings, which, translated to wood-engravings in numerous periodicals, illustrated both factual and fictional events of the past and present. The influences on him were mainly English, in particular the works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and illustrations in the English press, which he studied avidly. The success of his illustrations to some of Robert Herrick's poems, such as Corinna's Going A-Maying in Harper's New Monthly Magazine (May 1874), prompted Harper & Brothers in 1878 to send Abbey to England to do a complete series of drawings for an illustrated gift-book, Selections from the Poetry of Robert Herrick (New York, 1882). On his arrival in England, Abbey found his spiritual home, and except for a few trips, he never left.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

Edwin Austin Abbey
Edwin Austin Abbey, ca. 1870
Born	April 1, 1852(1852-04-01) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	August 1, 1911 (aged 59)
Nationality	American
Field	Painting
Training	Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Edwin Austin Abbey (April 1, 1852 – August 1, 1911) was an American artist, illustrator, and painter. He flourished at the beginning of what is now referred to as the "golden age" of illustration, and is best known for his drawings and paintings of Shakespearean and Victorian subjects, as well as for his painting of Edward VII's coronation."^[1][2]. His most famous work, The Quest of the Holy Grail, resides in the Boston Public Library.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Works by Abbey 3 References 4 External links

Biography

Abbey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1852. He studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Christian Schuessele. Abbey began as an illustrator, producing numerous illustrations and sketches for such magazines as Harper's Weekly and Scribner's Magazine. His illustrations began appearing in Harper's Weekly at an early age: before Abbey was twenty years old. Abbey was an illustrator with Harper's Weekly from 1871-1874. He moved to England in 1878 where he was made a full member of the Royal Academy in 1898. In 1902 he was chosen to paint the coronation of King Edward VII. It was the official painting of the occasion and, hence, resides at Buckingham Palace. In 1907 he declined an offer of knighthood in order to retain his U.S. citizenship. Friendly with other expatriate American artists, he summered at Broadway, Worcestershire, England, where he painted and vacationed alongside John Singer Sargent at the home of Francis Davis Millet.

He completed murals for the Boston Public Library in the 1890s. The frieze for the Library was titled "The Quest for the Holy Grail." It took Abbey eleven years to complete this series of murals in his England studio. In 1908-1909, Abbey painted a number of murals and other artworks for the rotunda of the new Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His works in that building include allegorical medallions representing Science, Art, Justice, and Religion in the Capitol Rotunda, large lunette murals underneath the Capitol dome, and a number of works in the House Chamber. Unfortunately, Abbey became ill with cancer in 1911 slowing his work. At the time, he was working on the "Reading of the Declaration of Independence Mural" which was later installed in the House Chamber. Abbey was so ill, that his studio assistant, Ernest Board completed the work with little supervision from Abbey. Later in 1911, Abbey died, leaving his commission for the State Capitol of Pennsylvania unfinished. John Singer Sargent, a friend and neighbor of Abbey, and studio assistant Board completed the "Reading of the Declaration of Independence Mural." Abbey's works were installed in the Rotunda and House Chamber. Two rooms from Abbey's commission were left undone, and the remainder of the commission was given to Violet Oakley. Oakley completed the works from start to finish using her own designs.

Abbey was elected to the National Academy of Design and The American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1937 Yale University became the home for a sizable collection of Abbey's works, the result of a bequest from Abbey's widow.

Works by Abbey

The play scene in Hamlet, oil on canvas, 1897

Anne Hutchinson on Trial, 1901

Spirit of Light, Pennsylvania State Capitol rotunda, Harrisburg

Allegorical medal of Science, Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Abbey, Edwin Austin.

References

1. ^ Chambers Biographical Dictionary, ISBN 0-550-18022-2, page 2
2. ^ Saint-Guadens, Homer (May 1908). "Edwin Austin Abbey: The Career Of A Great American Artist". The World's Work: A History of Our Time XVI: 10191-10124. 

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/record/archives/vol19/vol19_iss24/record1924.33

Nancy Mendes. "Edwin Austin Abbey: A Capital Artist." Pennsylvania Heritage magazine 32, no. 3 (Summer 2006): 6-15.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Edwin Austin Abbey

• Jim Vadeboncoeur's biography of Edwin Austin Abbey
• Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee's E.A. Abbey Bio

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