"The jovial monarch caught Mrs. Russell's hand in his, and proceeded to dance," illustration to "A Castle in Spain: A Novel"

"The jovial monarch caught Mrs. Russell's hand in his, and proceeded to dance," illustration to "A Castle in Spain: A Novel"

Edwin Austin Abbey

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Abbey's drawing illustrates "A Castle in Spain: A Novel" by the Canadian author James De Mille, which Harper and Brothers reissued in 1883. The image responds to the penultimate chapter, which is titled "In Which the King Comes to Claim His Own." Related text on page 177, reads: "His Majesty" now took another long, long pull at the black bottle. "If it wasn't that I had that other noble heart to fall back on," said he, as he wiped his royal eyes with the back of his royal hand, "I'd be fairly broken-hearted, so I would. But I'll be like Tim in the song:..." Singing this, the jovial monarch caught Mrs. Russell's hand in his, and proceed to dance in a manner which was far more boisterous than dignified. Mrs. Russell, always fond and indulgent, lent herself to the royal whim, and danced much more vigorously than could have been expected from a person of her years."

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

"The jovial monarch caught Mrs. Russell's hand in his, and proceeded to dance," illustration to "A Castle in Spain: A Novel""The jovial monarch caught Mrs. Russell's hand in his, and proceeded to dance," illustration to "A Castle in Spain: A Novel""The jovial monarch caught Mrs. Russell's hand in his, and proceeded to dance," illustration to "A Castle in Spain: A Novel""The jovial monarch caught Mrs. Russell's hand in his, and proceeded to dance," illustration to "A Castle in Spain: A Novel""The jovial monarch caught Mrs. Russell's hand in his, and proceeded to dance," illustration to "A Castle in Spain: A Novel"

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.