Edwin Austin Abbey
Master of Shakespearean illustration and murals
Edwin Austin Abbey was an American muralist, 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. His most famous set of murals, The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail, adorns the Boston Public Library. Abbey was born in Philadelphia 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 (1871–1874) and Scribner's Magazine. His illustrations began appearing in Harper's Weekly at an early age: before Abbey was twenty years old. He moved to New York City in 1871. His illustrations were strongly influenced by French and German black and white art. He also illustrated several best-selling books, including Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens (1875), Selections from the Poetry of Robert Herrick (1882), and She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (1887). Abbey also illustrated a four-volume set of The Comedies of Shakespeare for Harper & Brothers in 1896.
Relationship Network
Master student
- Wilfrid Gabriel de Glehn Student
Artworks by this artist
- Apemantus; “Hoy-day! what a sweep of vanity comes this way! They dance! They are mad women!” – Act I, Scene II, Timon of Athens 189
- A Dialogue Betwixt Himself, and Mistress Eliza Wheeler by Robert Herrick 1880
- The comedies of William Shakespeare 1899
- Lady Macbeth; ‘“Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers…,’ Act II, Scene II, Macbeth
- The Squire of Low Degree ca. 1897
- In Church
- Portrait of Mrs. Abbey
- Captain Sandy 1889
- His kinsmen wait his genial, loved return 1895
- Island of Staffa
- Landscape with trees
- The bird to others flew 1887
- The Vale of Ambleside, Wansfell
- Three men in a dry-goods store – country store, Dolbyville
- Water scene with landscape
- Galahad Departs, study for The Quest of the Holy Grail 1893
- Figure study for ‘Measure for Measure’ 1884
- Study of a woman in cloak and hat 1894
- Two female figure in cloister, from The Cloister 1888
- Study for central figure in ‘Spirit of Religious Liberty…guiding the ships’ mural at the state capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 2