The Friend in Need, from "Illustrated London News"
This print reproduces a painting by the Victorian artist Rebecca Solomon whose brothers Abraham Solomon and Simeon Solomon were also artists. After studies at the Spitalfields School of Design, Rebecca became a draftsman on wood, illustrator, assistant to her brother Abraham, copyist for John Everett Millais, and exhibited her own oils and watercolors at the Royal Academy and other venues. In this contemporary genre subject, a destitute mother and child seek charity outside a public institution (a poster suggests a missionary society), but are shooed away by a beadle, as a sympathetic woman and girl offer assistance. The wood engraving appeared in the "Illustrated London News," to mark the painting’s exhibition in 1859 at the gallery of Louis Victor Flatou, a London dealer who offered art lovers an alternative to the Royal Academy.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Friend in Need, from "Illustrated London News"
- Artist: After Rebecca Solomon (British, London 1832–1886 London)
- Date: April 23, 1859
- Medium: Wood engraving
- Dimensions: Sheet: 12 1/8 × 10 3/8 in. (30.8 × 26.3 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Donato Esposito, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.774.7
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.