Edwin Austin Abbey

Edwin Austin Abbey brought Shakespeare and medieval legend to life in rich, theatrical pictures full of costume, armour and drama. Trained as an illustrator, he had a sharp eye for gesture and staging, and his paintings often feel like a moment caught on stage.

Born in Philadelphia, he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and began drawing for Harper’s in New York. In 1883 he settled in England, where he illustrated Shakespeare’s comedies and painted scenes such as Cordelia’s Farewell and the Play Scene from Hamlet. He painted the official picture of Edward VII’s coronation, the Holy Grail murals for the Boston Public Library and murals for the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

His work is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Yale University Art Gallery. Look for the careful fabrics and the strong reds he liked to use.