Abraham Solomon
Encyclopedia
Life
Born as the second son of Meyer SolomonMeyer Solomon
Michael Solomon was a successful Bishopsgate manufacturer, and was one of the first Jews to be admitted to the freedom of the City of London....
, a Leghorn hat manufacturer, by his wife Catherine, in Sandys Street, Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...
, London, on the 7th May 1823. His father was one of the first Jews to be admitted to the freedom of the city of London. Two members of the family besides Abraham became artists. A younger brother, Simeon Solomon
Simeon Solomon
Simeon Solomon was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter-Biography:...
, acquired much acclaim as a pre-Raphaelite painter and pastellist. A sister, Rebecca Solomon
Rebecca Solomon
Rebecca Solomon was an English painter.-Biography:Rebecca was one of eight children born into an artistically-inclined Jewish merchant family. Her father was Michael Solomon and mother Catherine Levy...
, exhibited domestic subjects at the Royal Academy.
At the age of thirteen Abraham became a pupil in Sass's school of art in Bloomsbury, and in 1838 gained the Isis silver medal at the Society of Arts for a drawing from a statue. In 1839 he was admitted as a student of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, where he received in the same year a silver medal for drawing from the antique, and in 1843 another for drawing from the life.
Solomon died at Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
, of heart disease, on 19 Dec. 1862. He married, on 10 May 1860, Ella, sister of Dr. Ernest Hart; she survived her husband.
Works
His first exhibited work, 'Rabbi expounding the Scriptures,' appeared at the Society of British Artists in 1840, and in the following year he sent to the Royal Academy 'My Grandmother' and a scene from Sir Walter ScottWalter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's Fair Maid of Perth. These were followed (at the Academy) by a scene from the Vicar of Wakefield in 1842, another from Crabbe's Parish Register in 1843, and a third from Peveril of the Peak in 1845. 'The Breakfast Table,' exhibited in 1846, and a further scene from the Vicar of Wakefield in 1847, attracted some attention.
In 1848 appeared 'A Ball Room in the year 1760,' and in 1849 the 'Academy for Instruction in the Discipline of the Fan, 1711,' both of which pictures were distinguished by brilliancy of colour and careful study of costume. 'Too Truthful' was his contribution to the exhibition of the Royal Academy in 1850, and 'An Awkward Position'—an incident in the life of Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
—to that of 1851. In 1851, also, he sent to the British Institution 'Scandal' and 'La petite Dieppoise.'
In 1852 appeared at the Academy 'The Grisette' and a scene from Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's Tartuffe
Tartuffe
Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...
—the quarrel between Mariane and Valère, where Dorine interferes—and in 1853 'Brunetta and Phillis,' from the Spectator. In 1854, he sent to the Academy 'First Class: the Meeting,' and 'Second Class: the Parting.' Both were engraved in mezzotint by William Henry Simmons
William Henry Simmons
-Life:Simmons was born on 11 June 1811. He became a pupil of William Finden, the line engraver, but eventually he almost entirely abandoned that style of the art for mezzotinto, in which he attained a high degree of excellence....
, and marked a great advance in Solomon's work. They show an originality of conception and design which is not apparent in his earlier work. His next contributions to the Royal Academy were 'A Contrast' in 1855, 'The Bride' and 'Doubtful Fortune' in 1856, and 'Waiting for the Verdict' in 1857. The last picture greatly increased his popularity; but its companion, 'Not Guilty,' exhibited in 1859, was less successful. Both became the property of C. J. Lucas, esq., and were engraved by W. H. Simmons. 'The Flight,' 'Mlle. Blaiz,' and 'The Lion in Love' (also engraved by Simmons) were exhibited at the academy in 1858; 'Ici on rase, Brittany,' and 'The Fox and the Grapes' in 1859; 'Drowned! Drowned!' in 1860; 'Consolation' and 'Le Malade Imaginaire' in 1861; and 'The Lost Found' in 1862. 'Art Critics in Brittany' appeared at the British Institution
British Institution
The British Institution was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it was also known as the Pall Mall Picture Galleries or the British Gallery...
in 1861.
His last work, 'Departure of the Diligence at Biarritz,' is now at the Royal Holloway College, Egham.