biography of Holker ABBOTT (1858-1930)

Birth place: Lowell, MA

Death place: Wellesley, MA

Addresses: Abbott had a country estate called The Hundreds" in Wellesley, MA"

Profession: Painter, museum director

Studied: BMFA Sch.

Exhibited: BAC, 1885, 1886

Comments: He was a member of the first class to be graduated from the school of the BMFA, and for some years occupied a studio with H.W. Bicknell. He meant to specialize in ecclesiastical art and decorated the Episcopal Church in Wellesley, but made his personal career of minor importance and devoted himself to the advancement of art in America. In the 1870s he was one of the organizers of the Boston Art Students Assn. He soon became its president and changed the Association into the Copley Society of Boston, serving as president until the time of his death. Under his personal guidance the educational and exhibition policies of the Copley Society exerted a wide influence. He was a director of the BMFA, and was secretary of the Tavern Club for twenty years. A wreath of laurel was placed before the portrait of Holker Abbott, painted by John Singer Sargent for the Tavern Club, which held the position of honor in the exhibition of the Copley Society closely following his death, at the BMFA.

Sources: The Boston Art Club: Exhibition Record 1873-1909.