Landscape with trees

Edwin Austin Abbey prints bring the costumes, drama and storytelling of Shakespeare and old England into your home. Abbey was an American illustrator, painter and muralist of the "golden age" of illustration, known for his Shakespeare pictures, his Holy Grail murals in the Boston Public Library and his painting of Edward VII's coronation. Our collection of fine art prints covers his illustrations, paintings, costume designs and studies for murals.

About Edwin Austin Abbey

Edwin Austin Abbey was born in Philadelphia on 1 April 1852 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Christian Schussele. He began as an illustrator, and his drawings appeared in Harper's Weekly before he was twenty. He moved to New York in 1871 and illustrated best-selling books, including Dickens's Christmas Stories (1875), the poems of Robert Herrick (1882) and Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer (1887).

In 1878 his publishers sent him to England to gather material for the Herrick illustrations, and he settled there permanently in 1883. He was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-Colours, and in 1890 showed his first oil painting, A May Day Morn, at the Royal Academy. That year he married Gertrude Mead, daughter of a New York merchant. In the 1890s he painted The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail for the Boston Public Library, and in 1896 illustrated The Comedies of Shakespeare.

In 1902 he was chosen to paint the coronation of King Edward VII. From 1908 he worked on a vast scheme of murals for the new Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, which was completed after his death in London on 1 August 1911. His widow Gertrude gave his collection and archive to Yale.

Style and Subjects

Abbey's illustrations are lively and richly detailed, influenced by Adolph Menzel and Daniel Vierge, with a strong sense of costume and period. His Shakespeare scenes and historical paintings are theatrical and colourful, full of rich fabrics, armour and dramatic gestures.

His murals, from the Holy Grail in Boston to the allegories in Harrisburg, show figures from legend and history in a grand, decorative style. He made hundreds of careful figure, drapery and composition studies for them.

Famous Works

• She Stoops to Conquer (1887). His illustrations for Goldsmith's comedy.
• The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail (1890s), Boston Public Library. His most famous murals, telling the Grail legend in a long frieze.
• Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and the Lady Anne (1896). A dramatic scene from Shakespeare's Richard III.
• The Comedies of William Shakespeare (1896). His four-volume set of Shakespeare illustrations for Harper & Brothers.
• The Coronation of King Edward VII (1904), Royal Collection, UK. The official painting of the 1902 coronation.
• The Apotheosis of Pennsylvania (1911), Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg. His great mural for the House of Representatives chamber.

Decorating with Abbey Prints

Abbey's Shakespeare scenes and costume designs suit a library, study or home theatre, where their rich period detail delights readers and theatre lovers. A group of his Richard II costume sketches makes a lively gallery wall.

His gentle English scenes, like The Sunday Walk or Harvest Home, work in a hallway or living room with traditional furniture.

FAQ

Who was Edwin Austin Abbey?

Edwin Austin Abbey (1852–1911) was an American illustrator, painter and muralist who lived in England from 1883. He is known for Shakespeare and Victorian subjects and his murals.

What are Abbey's most famous works?

The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail murals in the Boston Public Library, his painting of the coronation of Edward VII, and his murals for the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

Did Edwin Austin Abbey illustrate Shakespeare?

Yes. He illustrated a four-volume set of The Comedies of Shakespeare for Harper & Brothers in 1896 and painted many Shakespeare scenes.

Where can I see Abbey's work?

His murals are in the Boston Public Library and the Pennsylvania State Capitol. The Yale University Art Gallery holds his archive and many studies, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston hold his work.

Related Artists

• Howard Pyle: fellow leading American illustrator of the golden age
• John Singer Sargent: fellow American painter who made his career in England
• Kenyon Cox: fellow American muralist of the same era