To the Teacher: Pupils may be asked to prepare and give orally short descriptions of at least one picture; class discussions should be encouraged.
After the entire series has been studied, pupils may choose one of the pictures as a subject for English composition work. They will be interested in reading Tennyson’s Sir Galahad, The Holy Grail, or other selections from the Idylls of the King.
The story of the artist. Mr. Edwin Austin Abbey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is one of the few great American artists who has won fame both at home and abroad. Living in Philadelphia, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which he left at the age of nineteen to enter the art department of Harper and Brothers, New York City. His first success came as an illustrator for their publications. It was through the Harpers, too, that he went to England, for they sent him there to gather material for some poems which they wished him to illustrate. He was especially interested in literary subjects, and while in England prepared many of his best illustrations, among them those for Shakespeare’s comedies and for Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer.
His water colors and pastels were also very popular. His most important work in oils—“The Holy Grail,” is in the United States. When this picture was almost finished he went, at the request of King Edward VII, to paint a picture of the coronation. The groups of figures, with their elaborate costumes and rich coloring, offered every inducement to one who so loved these things. Mr. Abbey became very popular in England. He received many medals, and all possible honors both at home and abroad.
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS
Idylls of the King, Tennyson.
The Vision of Sir Launfal, Lowell.
The Legend of the Holy Grail, Baxter.
The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail, Henry James.
Handbook of the Boston Public Library.