"King Lear," Act I, Scene I

"King Lear," Act I, Scene I

Edwin Austin Abbey

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Multitalented Edwin Austin Abbey, a Philadelphia-born illustrator, painter, and muralist, is best known for his historical imagery, especially Arthurian and Shakespearean subjects. A popular member of expatriate artistic circles, Abbey first visited England in 1878, and settled there permanently in 1882. In this dramatic scene from King Lear, Cordelia—Shakespeare’s heroine in the tragedy—stands at the center of the composition, having just been renounced by her father in the play’s opening scene.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.