Abraham Solomon (British painter) 1823 - 1862
Abraham Solomon was an English painter. A younger brother, Simeon Solomon, acquired much acclaim as a pre-Raphaelite painter and pastellist. A sister, Rebecca Solomon, exhibited domestic subjects at the Royal Academy. * * * Rebecca Solomon (British painter) 1832 - 1886 Rebecca was a sister to her more famous painter brothers Simeon Solomon (1840–1905) and Abraham Solomon (1824–1862). Initially Rebecca was taught by her older brother Abraham and then took lessons at the Spitalfields School of Design. She exhibited at the Royal Academy of Art between 1852 and 1868, and also at the Dudley Gallery and Gambart's French Gallery. Rebecca worked in the studio of John Everett Millais and the best known example of her work is a version of Millais's Christ in the House of his Parents. As a genre painter, she painted works that often reflected gender and social class differences. Rebecca Solomon came from a distinguished London Jewish family of artists. Her brother Abraham Solomon was an award winning artist from the Royal Academy, and another younger brother Simeon was a member of the Pre-Raphaelites. Simeon's paintings were greatly admired by Burne-Jones and Pater. Rebecca was taught by Abraham and successfully exhibited her paintings between 1852-1869. Tragedy, however, beset all the Solomons:Abraham died young, Simeon's alcoholism as well as the criminal charges that were brought against resulted in his ending his days in a workhouse. Rebecca's alcoholicism became a public scandal and she would die insane. * * * Simeon Solomon (British painter) 1840 - 1905 Simeon Solomon was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter. Solomon was a younger brother to fellow painters Abraham Solomon (1824–1862) and Rebecca Solomon (1832–1886). As a student at the Royal Academy Schools, Solomon was introduced through Dante Gabriel Rossetti to other members of the Pre-Raphaelite circle, as well as the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne and the painter Edward Burne-Jones in 1857. His first exhibition was at the Royal Academy in 1858. He continued to hold exhibitions of his work at the Royal Academy between 1858 and 1872. In addition to the literary paintings favoured by the Pre-Raphaelite school, Solomon's subjects often included scenes from the Hebrew Bible and genre paintings depicting Jewish life and rituals. His association with Swinburne led to his illustrating Swinburne's Lesbia Brandon in 1865.
