The Washington times., 1902-12-07

y American arilsl VINO recently.
q visited i'm England found Edwin
a. Abbey engaged in painting
the coronation picture which
N.ns Edvard had ordered. After ex-
2mining the canvas the visitor said.
Abbey. it is a great work and a great
chance. but tell me. how did you get
ito"
The painters reply was lacouic.
Through my grandfather"
The friend gasped his astonishment;
then laughingly added.
Ard / see by the newspapers that
you are also to decorate the new capitol
Of Pennsylvania. a work that will be
monumental and take years Of your life
Did your grandfather get you this com
mission. too"
III l DO the work. he will be the
cause" was Mr.. Abbey's answer.
Grandfather a Merchant
Roswell Abbey. grandfather Of the
artist who hopes to have the coronation
painting completed by next spring. was
a merchant. an inventor Of type foundry
appliances. an adept in almost every
line Of commerce and. for his own
pleasure and recreation. worker in
water colors He was OF decided
artistic temperament. and used to spend
hours before his easel
Roswell Abbcy's son. William VI. Ab-
hey. was merchant in Philadelphia.
when that city scarcely extended above
Broad Street Like his father. he found
his recreation largely in the sketch
book and the brush until late in life.
Ono OF William n. Abbey's two sons
is Edwin A. Abbey, and Edwin a. Abbey
began manifesting the artistic trait Of
his grandfather almost from the cradle.
4 He was barely four years old when he
began making pencil drawings that at
tracted more than passing attention on
the fly leaves and margins Of magazines
and books and few years later he
divided his time between baseball and
Htterlng up the house with sketches o.
the family. his home and his playmates.
Became a Collector.
About the same time decided chrac-
teristic, that is remarked upon whenever
Mr.. Abbey's art is discussed. began to
develop.
( Mr.. Abbey Is famed among artists as
the professions most pronounced suckler
for correct costumes and settings for his
work. He has a horror Of anachronisms
So. in order to be absolutely accurate. he
has gathered from time 10 time a coIIec-
ticn Of ancient dress and implements Of
warfare that experts In such things hold
TO be unequaled
/ Wherever he has seen habiIiments that
had the spirit and technique Of the times
dealt with in the various products Of his
brush and pencil. Mr.. Abbey hss secured
them. and many Of these he has discov-
cred in out-of- the-way corners OF Eu-
rope. Others that he has not been able
TO obtain in this way he has had built
according to painfully detailed descrip-
tions found in chronicles aod other an
. ofar1f eorrrgca 0r f~f-,-r,..,+F..-
His Peculiarities.
Mr. Abbey considers no amount OF time
and work wasted in avoiding an an
achronsm or uEdoing one. After he had
finished the painting Of Gloucester and
tho Lady Anne" he discovered that he
had got in the wrong quarterings in the
coat Of arms on the lady's dress. which is
OF heroldic 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 vaulted roof sup
ported by columns with unusual capitals.
That he might not be guilty OF an an
achronism, Mr.. Abbey travelled TO Brit
tany and not only copied but modelled
the capitals as we'll
This characteristic Mr Abbey dis.
played when. a boy just in his teens. hc
/ posed brother and sister and compan-
ions. always insisting that their cos
tunes should be faultless as TO time and