Lot 187: Abraham Solomon (1824-1862)

Juliet at her balcony
signed with monogram and dated '1861' (lower left)
oil on canvas, painted oval
18 3/4 x 16 in. (47.6 x 40.6 cm.)

Sir John Aird, Bt.

Abraham was the oldest of the Solomon family of painters, being nine years older than Rbecca (1832-1886) and seventeen years older than Simeon (1840-1905). Although his masterpieces, Waiting for the Verdict, and Not Guilty (1857-9; Tate Gallery) are courtroom dramas strongly tinged with social realism, he was equally at home in with subjects drawn from literature, and lighter genre.

A Christie's stencil number on the reverse of this picture indicates that it was part of a large consignment submitted for sale on 12 January 1935 by the Executors of the late Sir John Aird, Bt. 174 pictures were sold, but 115 pictures, of which this was one, were delivered back to the Trustees.

Sir John contructed the Aswan Dam in Egypt, and invited Sir Laurence Alma-Tadema to accompany him. On his returned he commissioned from the artist what was arguably his masterpiece, The Finding of Moses, sold at Christie's New York on 25 May 1995, lot 87, (£2,752,500). He assembled one of the most distinguished collections of Victorian Pictures of the late 19th Century.

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.