Untitled

The Philadelphia-born Abbey was one of the most popular artists of his day. Specializing in Anglo-American literary subjects throughout his long and successful career, which began with black-and-white drawing—such as this work—and ended with mural painting. An early contract with Harper’s Weekly brought Abbey before the public on a regular basis, leading to his first major commission from Harper & Brothers publishing—illustrations to accompany the poetry of the 17th-century English lyric poet Robert Herrick. It was that commission that first sent the artist to England, where he settled permanently in 1883. Produced between 1879 and 1882, Abbey’s Herrick drawings are imbued with a sense of vitality, lyricism, and joy that appealed to readers on both sides of the Atlantic. In later years, Abbey became even more celebrated for his drawings and paintings of Shakespearean subjects, one of which is owned by The Met (King Lear, Act I, Scene I, 1898).