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"King Lear," Act I, Scene I

1898
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 770
Abbey, a multitalented illustrator, painter, and muralist born in Philadelphia, is best known for his historical imagery of Arthurian and Shakespearean subjects. A popular member of expatriate artistic circles, Abbey first visited England in 1878 and settled there in 1882. In this dramatic composition from the opening scene of Shakespeare’s King Lear, Cordelia—the tragedy’s heroine—stands at center, having just been renounced by her father and derided by her deceptive sisters.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "King Lear," Act I, Scene I
  • Artist: Edwin Austin Abbey (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1852–1911 London)
  • Date: 1898
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 54 1/4 x 127 1/4 in. (137.8 x 323.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of George A. Hearn, 1913
  • Object Number: 13.140
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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Tracking Rabbits, from "Harper's Weekly"
After Edwin Austin Abbey (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1852–1911 London)
December 20, 1873
A Return (unrealized alternate for Harper's, New Monthly Magazine, February 1878)
Edwin Austin Abbey (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1852–1911 London)
1877–78
Hampton Institute Reading Room (Harper's, New Monthly Magazine, October 1873, p. 681)
Edwin Austin Abbey (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1852–1911 London)
1873
Cottage in the Hollow (probably for Harper's, New Monthly Magazine)
Edwin Austin Abbey (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1852–1911 London)
1873–90
Surrey, Girl with Roses (probably for Harper's, New Monthly Magazine)
Edwin Austin Abbey (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1852–1911 London)
1874–90

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