The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-30
EDWIN A. ABBEYS TALENT
RESULT OF THREE GENERATIONS
The Grandfather and Father of the Corona
ton Painter and the Decorator of PennsyI-
vania's New Capitol Were Artists Before
Him
Copyrighted, 1902, by A. V. Gillespie

A certain well-known American art
list while in England this year went into
Worcestershire to see a friend of his
student days; and when he arrived at
the typical English village of Fairford
he found Edwin A. Abbey busily en-
gagged on the picture of the coronation
that King Edward commanded him to
paint.
After greetings and a survey of the
great canvas which will preserve for
future generations the glories of King
Edward Wis accession to the throne
of Great Britain. the visitor said:
Abbey, it is a great work and a
great chance; but tell me, how did you
get it?"
The painters reply was laconic:
Through my grandfather"
The friend gasped his establishment;
then laughingly added:
"And / see by the newspapers that
you are also to decorate the new capt.
toll of Pennsylvania, a work that will
be monumental and take years of your
life. Did your grandfather get you
this commission, too?"
IF 1 do the work, he will be the
Roswell Abbey, grandfather of the
artist who hopes to have the coronation
painting completed by next spring. was
a merchant, an inventor of type foun-
dry appliances, an adept in almost any
line of commerce and, for his own
pleasure and recreation, worker in
water colors. He was of a decided ar
tistic temperament and used to spend
hours before his easel.
Roswell AhheU'S son William M
Abbey, earned his livelihood as a mer-
chant, and was a. prosperous one at
that, in Philadelphia, when that city
scarcely extended above Broad street.
Like his father. he found his recrea-
ton largely in the sketch book and the
brush until late in life.
Began Drawing in the Cradle.
One of William NJ Abbey's two
sons is Edwin A Abbey; and Edwin
A. Abbey began manifesting the artis-
tic trait of his grandfather almost from
the cradle.
He was barely four years of age
when he began making pencil drawings
that attracted more than passing at
tention, on the fly leaves and margins
of magazines and books; and a few
years later he divided his time between
baseball and littering up the house
with sketches of the family, his home
and his playmates.
About the same time decided char
acteristic, that is remarked upon when
ever Mr.. Abbey's art is discussed, be-
gan to develop.
Mr.. Abbey is famed among artists
as the professions most pronounced
stickler for correct costumes and set
tings for his work. He has a horror
of anachronisms. So in order to be
absolutely accurate, he has gathered
from time to time a collection of an
cient dress and implements of war
fare that experts on things antique
hold to be unequalled. Wherever he
has seen habiliments 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 out-of-the-way cor
ners of Europe. Others that he has
not been able to obtain in this way
ne has had built according to painfully
detailed descriptions found in chroni-
cles and other ancient sources of in
formation.
Mr.. Abbey considers no amount of
time and work wasted in avoiding an
anaehronism or undoing one.
After he had finished the painting
OF Gloucester and the Lady Anne"
ne discovered that he had got in the
wrong quarteringS in the coast of arms
on the lady's dress, which is of her
aldlc design. Despite the fact that it
meant much labor he promptly did the
skirt over again.
In the painting Of the castle of
King Amphortas" there is a vaulted
roof supported by columns with I'M
usual capitals. That he might not be
guilty of an anachronism, Mr. Alb
hey Travelled to Brittany and not only
copied but modelled the capitals as
well.
Used Brother for "a Model.
This characteristic Mr. Abbey dis
played when, a boy just in his teens,
he posed brother and sister and com
panions, always insisting that their
costumes be faultless as to time and
circumstance. One of his first sketches
to be printed in a magazine was
Tracking Rabbits" 1t showed two
boys out hunting-Mr. Abbeys brother
and friend and before the artist
would consent to begin the sketch he
Wearied the youthful models almost to
the point of rebellion by his fussiness
over the details of their dress.
II was the same with the drawings
that Ned" Abbey made for the late
oliver Optics papuer, Our Boys and
Girls. The first of these, and the
first of any of Mr. Abbey's handiwork
TO be published, was an illustrated
rebus, appearing in 1866. At that me
Mr.. Abbey was IA years old. But the
style of this and other Illustrations
that appeared frequently in the paper
SO attracted Mr.. Adams to the youth
1ul artist that he cultivated his ac-
quaintance and later dedicated a book
to him.
Two years after to rebus was pub
hshed Abbey went into a wood en-
grayer's shop and drew on wood; and
X was about this time, too, that he
nrst broke into Harper's with a
sketch portraying a band of Puritans
celebrating THE First Thanksgiving.
concerning this achievement Mr.. ABB
Dey, while. in this country last year,
SAID to friend who had congratulated
MN on securing the commission for
the coronation picture:
Yes: naturally I'm pleased TO have
peen selected: but do you know. /
wasn't tickled half so much as when
got my first sketch in Harper's.
Baseball Enthusiast.
Three years after THE First
Thanksgiving had been published
Abbey came TO New York In the
meantime be had studied a year OF so
N The Pennsylvania Academy 81 Fine
Afs IN Philadelphia and to-day there
- tradition IN that school that Med
Appey was a good artist, but IN
wiling" But once IN New York he
negan developing another trait that =
the subject 0f miIb good natufed
banter hmOng has ffiioWs-in-aft ite
Joined Tbs Tile Club. Of which
many artists now famous were ue1T