An exhibition dedicated to Edwin Austin Abbey - an American painter and illustrator renowned in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - centered on the preparatory study for The Hours, a monumental work intended for the ceiling of the House of Representatives Chamber in the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. Created between 1909 and 1911 in his Gloucestershire studio, then the largest in Europe, The Hours depicts allegorical female figures dancing in a circle under a starry sky, symbolizing the transition from day to night. An harmonious composition that reflects the influence of European Symbolism and Italian Renaissance Humanism, adapted by Abbey to the American context of the time. In addition to the main study, the exhibition features a selection of preparatory sketches and drawings from the Yale University Art Gallery, donated by Abbey's widow in 1937. These materials illustrate the artist's meticulous creative process and his skill in combining various techniques, from charcoal to oil on canvas. Abbey, a friend of John Singer Sargent and a member of the Royal Academy, spent much of his career in the United Kingdom, significantly contributing to both British and American art scenes. Despite his fame during his lifetime, he is now a lesser-known figure, and this exhibition offers an opportunity to rediscover his contribution to public and monumental art.
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