& Solomon, Rebecca Millais, J.E. Paintings

Rebecca Solomon was a notable Victorian artist born into a Jewish family in London, England, in 1834. Her family was artistically inclined; her brothers, Simeon Solomon and Abraham Solomon, were also painters. Despite the challenges faced by women in the Victorian art world, Solomon pursued her artistic ambitions with determination. She trained with her brother Abraham and later with the preeminent Pre-Raphaelite painter, John Everett Millais, who was not related to their family but shared the common surname.

Solomon's work was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite style, which emphasized detailed observation and a return to the rich colors and complexity of Quattrocento Italian art. Her paintings often depicted historical and genre scenes, as well as social issues of the time, such as the position of women in society and the plight of the poor. Rebecca also worked as an art copyist, which was a respectable way for women artists to earn a living during that time.

Despite facing the prejudices of the time against female artists, Solomon exhibited her work at prestigious venues such as the Royal Academy of Arts, the Society of British Artists, and the British Institution. Her paintings received positive reviews and she enjoyed a degree of success during her lifetime.

Rebecca Solomon's career was cut short when she died tragically in a street accident in London in 1886. While her work was somewhat overshadowed by her more famous brother, Simeon Solomon, and the broader Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, recent scholarship has begun to reassess her contributions to Victorian art, recognizing her as an important figure in her own right.