Evening star., 1938-07-10
Mrs. Abbot Equally at Home
At Easel or Solar Cooker
Smithsonian Official s
Wife Has Vide Range
of Expression.
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

UoNdLlc dIl dTt WIN ner 61Cer 0ef
marriage to her scientist husband,
when. in the course Of their summer
vacations, she accompanied him to
Mount Wilson, Calf, where he was
experimenting with his now world
famous studies on solar radiation.
While he was intent upon his scien-
tif1c research work. she occupied her
self with housekeeping, cooking ac-
cording to a scheme of DR.. Abbot's
devising. In between times she
sketched and painted the fascinating
world round about her.
Not infrequently she combined her
artistic expression with solar cooking
to advantage by putting their dinner
in the solar ovens to cook while with
palette and brush she transformed to
canvas the scenes of Nature.
BY bit of persistent probing one
discovers that Mrs. Abbot was a pu-
pill at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
School under such eminent artists as
Edmund c. Messer, Edmund Tarbell
and William Chase An exquisite pas
tel portrait Of a lovely young girl
which adorns the hallway of their
home and is reminiscent Of the famed
skill and charm of the great Chase, Is
the handiwork of Mrs. Abbot.
Has Exhibited Work.
Several successful "one-man" ex-
hibitions OF Mrs. Abbots artistic out
put also have been held under the
auspices of George Washington Uni
versity and the Washington Society
OF Artists. She also has participated
In two exhibitions of Washington art
lists conducted under the auspices of
the art departments of two of Wash.
ington's large stores, during the course
OF which more than 80 of her can
cases we're sold.
In one Of these ehibits. her interior
"Grandmother's Corner" was Judged
the best among 200 other contestants.
This is DR.. Abbot's favorite among all
OF his wife's paintings. Not only did
he not permit it to be sold. but he Sc
lected the place of honor for 1t in the
drawing room Of their home.
Mrs. Abbot's range Of artistic express
sion is wide one She not only
paints portraits and interiors with de-
lightful feeling and sure skill, but her
flowers and landscapes are exquisitely
rendered, all of her compositions
showing complete unity and being in
perfect balance with the whole. accord
ing to a distinguished local critic.
Among her most celebrated flower sub
Jects are 'Dogwood." Purple Lilacs," "
and "Goldenrod." A notable portrait
OF DR.. c. H. Rowland. done to order
for his family. has received high COM
mendation not only as likeness, but
also for the way in which the sub
ject was handled from an artistic
standpoint.
Famous Solar Cooker.
The Abbot's famous solar cooker Is
situated just outside their bungalow
door on the mountain side about 100
yards below Mount Wilson Observa-
tory in California. 1t consists Of q
concave mirror by IL feet. Through
the middle and UP through the padded
ovens with which It Connects, runs q
copper pipe In which rises In . contin.
uous flow, so gallons Of oil which orig
lnally were put in the solar heater. It
has never been necessary to change or
add to the flow of this oil. which
through the heat induced In it by the
suns rays, heats the oven and enables
Mrs. Abbot to do her solar cooking
Just one change has been made in the
original set-up. When DR.. and Mrs.
Abbot noticed the baking time was
being slowed down at times because
the suns rays were being DETECTED by
foliage Of several large sequoias, the
problem was met by cutting down the
trees.
Frequently. Mrs. Abbot says, II have
put dinner of roast meat, potatoes
and several other vegetables in the
solar cooker and gone off sketching
down the mountain side without a
worry
On my return. which I learned how
to gauge from one to three hours, I
knew should find our meal cooked to
epicurean consistency, without any
attention having been given it in the
It became quite the fashion for Mrs.
Abbot to entertain Dr. Abbot's fellow
scientists. who came to confer with
him concerning his experiments, with
the products of her solar cookery. For
instance, cereal put into the oven when
they retired at night would come out
piping hot and cooked to a delicious
consistency for their breakfast in the
Mrs. Abbot also has done all sorts of
canning and preserving in this sun
heated cooker, just as she has baked
bread. rolls and cakes in it. Bread
and cake" she said, rise far more
evenly and thus have a finer grain
than they do in any other type of oven
which I have ever used"
abbot Brown Bread"
Abbot brown bread" has come to be
one of the most famous and highly
appreciated specialties of Mrs. Abbot's
culinary skill in this unique scientific
device. which is not only the envy of
her neighbors at the Mount Wilson
Observatory, but has occasioned letters
from all over the world as to its pos-
sible use in desert countries.
Often while Mrs. Abbot is in the
midst Of her painting or cooking wild
deer come up on their front porch door
seeking food. or the chickadees will fly
down from their nests in the trees to
feed out of her hand. In order sue
cessfully to cultivate the flowers which
she dearly loves, both for themselves
and as subjects for her painting and
pastel portraiture during their sum-
mer vacations, Mrs Abbot Is obliged to
ward of the mischievous squirrels by
pegging down mosquito netting over
the beds.
In their Washington residence. at
5207 Thirty eighth street, Mrs. Abbot
has a spacious north room set up as q
studio. Here she spends many morn
ing hours at her easel, after she has
given directions for the maintenance
of their home. which is a mecca for