Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Abbey, Edwin Austin, 1852-

Painter; born in Philadelphia. April 1, 1852; was educated at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1871 entered the publishing house of Harper & Brothers, for which he went to England in 1878. He became widely noted for his book illustrations, and in 1890 exhibited his first painting, A May day morning. He became an associate of the Royal Academy and of the Royal Water Color Society in London, and was an American juror on painting at the Paris Exposition of 1900. The last of his notable works in the United States was the design of a series of paintings illustiating the Holy Grail for the walls of the new Public Library in Boston. In March, 1901, he was commissioned by King Edward VII. to paint the scene of his coronation in Westminster Abbey. [2]