The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-30
STORIES OF EDWIN A. ABBEY.
THE tORON ARTIST N
PRIVATE uFF.
His Sketches ss n Boy Triumph NJ ~
SIN Remembered Amusrnrnts nj
Ills English Home Work Of Putting
ItinE EIw ards Coronation on t'an, n.

while in England his year went into Glotces-
tershirv 10 ste IA friend 81 his student days;
and when he arrived at the typical English
village Of fairford he found Edwin A. Abbey
bu-ily engaged on the pic, ure of the corona
ton that King Edward commanded him 10
paint.
After greetings and a survey Of the grea,
canvas which will preserve for future
general ions he glories Of King Edward
VII - coronation the visitor said
Abbey. it il a great wori. aud a great
chance but tell me, how did YOU get ~
The painters reply was lsconio.
Through NV grandfather
The friend gasp.d his "a, constituent: then
laughingly added.
And ! see 10y the new ,papers hat Won
| arr also 10 decorate the new capitol of Penn
-ylVauil, a work that will be monumental
and take Years of your life. Did your grand
father get YOU his "umlni-sluh too
IF do Ia" work. he will be- the cause.
was Mr. Abbey, answer
Roswell Abbey, grandfather Of the artist
| who hopes 10 have he coronation painting
completed by mex, spring, wa- a M reliant ,
! an inventor Of typ, foundry applCauC'
| an adop' IN almp.' every line "f commerce
| and, for h,~ own pleasure and recreation, a
worker in waite" culOr- lie was Of a i, oid-d
artistic temperament aud used tu spend
| hours hcfpr" hi easel
| Roswell Ahhry's Ion. William NJ Abbey
| was mcrchenI in Philadelphia, when that
| c,ty scarcely extended above Broad street D..
| Like his father, he found hir recreation
| largely in The sketch book and the brush
| until lat" in life
| One Of William VI. Abbey'- two sons j.
| Edwin 4. Abbey, and Edwin 4. Abbey
| began manife-tirg the artistic trait of hi-
| grandfather almost from the cradle.
| He was barely four years obi when he
| began making pencil drawings that at
| traCted more than passing attention ON
| the fly l-ayes and margins OF magazines
and books, and few wears later he divided
| his tim. between baseball and littering up
| the house with sketches Of the family. his
| home and his plavmate-
! About the same time Il decided Charac-
teristic, tina, j. remarked upon whenever
| Mr.. Abbrv'- art j. discussed began 10
develop.
MIR. Abbey j. famed among artists a.
| the Professions most pronounced -tickler
| for correct cost umes and settings for his
! work he has a horror of auachronisms
| So, in order 20 be absolutely accurate, he
| has gathered from time to time a collec-
| ton of ancient dress and implements uf
| warfare that expert, in such things hold
| TO b.. unequallad
Wherever he has seen habilimen', that
! had the spirit and technique Of the times
| dealt with in the various products of his
| brush and pencil, Mr. Abbey has secured
! them, and many of these he has discovered
In OH al tho "a IA ~ Of Enrtnn ~
| that he has not been able to obtain in this
| way he has had built according 10 pam
| fully detailed descriptions found in chrun-
! icles and other ancient sources of infor-
| nation.
| Mr.. Abbey considers no amount N time
| and work wasted ia avoiding an anacnron-
! ism or undoins one. After he had finished
the painting Of Gloucester and the Lady
Anne" he discovered that h. had got in
| the wrong quar'erings in the cOa' oil arms
ON the ady's dress. which IL Of heraldc
design. Despite the fact that il meant
| much labor he promptly did the skirt over
| again.
| In the painting Of the Castle of King
| Amphortas' there Is vauled roof sup
| ported 10y columns with unusual capitals.
| That he might not be guilty. of an anaChron-
ism, MIR Abbey travelled To Brittany and
! not only copied but modelled the capitals
| a. well.
This Characteristic Mr.. Abbey displayed
when, a boy just in his teens, he posed
| brother and sister and companions. always
| insisting that their costumes should be
| iaultess as to time and circumstance.
! One OF his first sketches TO be printed III
| Magazine was Tracking Rabbits"
II showed two boys out hunting, Mr..
| Ahpcy's brother and a friend, and before
| ~" artist would consent to begin the
sketch h" woarod the youthful models
almost 20 the point of rebellion by his f,l,--
| ne-~ over details of their dress.
| II wa- the same with the drawings that
| he made for the late Oliver Optics paper,
| Our ROys and GIris. The first Of these,
and the first of any Of MIR. Abbey's hand-
| work To he published, was an illustrated
| rcbuS, appearing in 1866.
| AT that time Mir. Abbey was II. But
| the styl" of this and other illus, rat ions
| that appeared frequently in the paper
so attracted MIR Adams 10 the youthful
| artis that he cultivated his acquahit anCe
| and later dedicated a book To him.
| Two wears after the rrhus was published
young Abbey went into wood cngraver's
| shop and drew Oh wood; and IL was abob
| this time. too, that h. first broke into Hdr-
| pcrs with IA sketch por, rayiug a band of
| Purtans celebrating The First Thanks
| giving" Concerning this achievement
| Mr.. Abbey, while in This country last year,
| said 10 friend who cougrar ulaled him
| on securing the commission Tor the corona
| tloil picture,
Yes. naturally I'm pleased 10 have
been selected but, do You know, ! wasn't
| tickled half 80 much AZ when | got my
| first sketch ia Hdrp,r's
| Three years after The First Thanks
| giving" had been published, Mr.. Abbey
| came to New York. In the meantime
h" had studied a year or 80 in the Peun-yl-
| varia Academy of the Fin" Arts IN Philndel-
plia, and to-day there l. tradition in hat
| school that Ned Abbey was a good artist,
| bur unwilling
| But once ia New York he began develop
| ing another trait that IL the subject of much
| good-uatur"d banter among his fellows
| mart, Tie joined the Tile club, Of which
| many artists now famous were members
| y, Hopkinson Smith being among them.
| II was duty Of the members nj the
| club meetings To paint tiles and plaques
| and what not for one another's studios,
! and he result. in Ahbcy'- case, was that lee
| cultivated a ionducsS for spending nearly
| every cent he had, moi necessary for living
| EXPENSES in adurning his 81 udio and home,
| When he leased Morgan Hail. his English
| home. an old rambling structure. parts
| Of which are more than go years old,
| which Is surrounded 10y AN estate of thirty
| acres h" began altering il right and left
| and decorating and embellishing il with
| a. much i"rNor a. he used To display in
! adjoining the studios of hs young DAYS in
| America.