Lillian Elvira Moore Abbot

Lillian Elvira Moore Abbot
Abbott in June 1935
Born
Lillian Elvira Moore

(1869-06-03)June 3, 1869
Vienna, Virginia, U.S.
DiedJune 1, 1944(1944-06-01) (aged 74)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma materCorcoran School of the Arts and Design
OccupationArtist
Known forFloral paintings
SpouseCharles Greeley Abbot (m. 1897–1944; her death)

Lillian Elvira Moore Abbot (née Moore; June 3, 1869 – June 1, 1944) was an American artist, known for her paintings and flower studies.[1][2]

Early life and education

Lillian Elvira Moore was born on June 3, 1869, in Vienna, Virginia.[3] Her parents were Elvira (née Finch) and John Lewis Moore.[4][5][3] Abbot studied at the Corcoran School of Art and was the student of Catherine Carter Critcher, Edmund C. Tarbell,[6] Richard Norris Brooke,[6] William M. Chase, and others.[7][8][3]

Career

Abbot primarily painted in watercolor and oil paintings and focused on the subject of flowers and floral still life.[7][3] She less commonly painted landscapes (mostly of woodlands), portraits, and interior scenes.[6]

On October 13, 1897, she married astrophysicist Charles Greeley Abbot, the 5th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.[9][10][11][12] Once married, Abbot accompanied and assisted her husband during his expeditions on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution, including to Algeria, South Africa, and India.[3][13] They lived between Washington, D.C., and Mount Wilson (Los Angeles County, California).[7]

Starting in 1917, she was a member of the Society of Washington Artists.[7][14] Her first comprehensive solo exhibition was in 1933, at the Art League of Washington at 2111 Bancroft Place, Washington, D.C.[6] She had an art exhibition hosted by the Art League of Washington from May 1–15, 1935.[15]

Death and legacy

Abbot died on June 1, 1944, two days before her 75th birthday, at her home in Washington, D.C., following a long illness.[3][12] She is buried at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland. Abbot was survived by her husband. They had no children.[16]

Her work is part of the Frick Art Reference Library's MoMA Photo Files,[17] and she has a biographical information file at the Smithsonian Institution Archives.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Mrs. Lillian Elvira Moore Abbot". Newspapers.com. The News Journal. June 3, 1944. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  2. ^ "Lillian Elvira Moore Abbot artist file : study photographs and reproductions of works of art with accompanying documentation 1930?-1990". library.frick.org. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Mrs. Charles G. Abbot: Wife of Smithsonian Secretary, Known For Her Paintings". Times Machine. The New York Times. June 3, 1944. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-04-14. Mrs. Lillian Elvira Moore Abbot
  4. ^ Principal Women of America. Vol. 2. Mitre Press. 1936. p. 11.
  5. ^ Howes, Durward (1935). American Women. Richard Blank Publishing Company. p. 3.
  6. ^ a b c d Mechlin, Leila (March 12, 1933). "Notes of Art and Artists: Washington Artist Completes Panels For New York State Post Office – Various Exhibitions in Galleries of the City". Newspapers.com. Evening Star. pp. 64–65. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  7. ^ a b c d "Abbot, Lillian Elvira Moore". Who Was Who in American Art, 1564–1975: A-F. Sound View Press. 1999. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-932087-55-3.
  8. ^ "City Club to See Mrs. Abbot's Art", The Washington Post (1923-1954), January 8, 1939, pg. 1 ProQuest 151238650.
  9. ^ Sciences, United States Congress Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space (1970). Congressional Recognition of Goddard Rocket and Space Museum, Roswell, New Mexico: With Tributes to Dr. Robert H. Goddard, Space Pioneer, 1882-1945. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  10. ^ Motter, H. L. The International Who’s Who: Who’s Who in the World 1912 : A Biographical Dictionary of the World's Notable Living Men and Women. International Who’s Who, 1911, pg. 2.
  11. ^ "Mrs. Lillian Moore Abbot". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  12. ^ a b "Portrait of Lillian E. Moore Abbot (1870-1944)". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  13. ^ Abbot, C. G. (1929). The Sun and the Welfare of Man. Vol. 2. New York: Smithsonian Institution Series, inc.
  14. ^ "City Club to See Mrs. Abbot's Art", The Washington Post (1923-1954), January 8, 1939, p. 1. ProQuest 151238650.
  15. ^ "E 0032 - Art League of Washington program". Historical Society of Washington DC. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  16. ^ Biographical Memoirs: Volume 73. National Academy of Sciences. National Academies Press. 1998-07-01. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-309-06031-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ^ "Lillian Elvira Moore Abbot artist file: study photographs and reproductions of works of art with accompanying documentation 1930?-1990". Frick Art Reference Library. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  18. ^ "Biographical Information File | Contents |". Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives (SOVA). Retrieved 2022-04-14.