May Day Morning 1890 - 1894

Edwin Austin Abbey painted *May Day Morning* with oils on canvas, a relatively traditional medium. But the image shows the May Day festival, a traditional celebration by workers to mark the start of spring, which has socialist associations. Abbey’s soft brushstrokes and restrained palette give the painting an idyllic, almost dreamlike quality, and the materiality of his oil paint helps to create a sense of depth and atmosphere. But the figures’ costumes and the garden setting also reflect the social significance of the celebration: this version of May Day is more decorative than deeply felt. Despite the romanticism with which Abbey depicts the scene, this was a time of great social upheaval and labor movements. In a way, the painting sanitizes that history, turning a folk custom into a charming tableau. As such, this ‘fine art’ painting offers a sanitized version of popular culture.