{{Short description|English painter (1860–1927)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox artist | name = Solomon Joseph Solomon | image = Self-portrait, by Solomon Joseph Solomon.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Self-portrait, {{circa|1896}} | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth-date|16 September 1860}} | birth_place = [[London]], England | death_date = {{death-date and age|27 July 1927|16 September 1860}} | death_place = [[Birchington-on-Sea]], [[Kent]], England | movement = | awards = | elected = {{ubl | [[Royal Academy]] | President, [[Royal Society of British Artists]] }} | patrons = | website = | field = Portrait painting | education = | notable_works = [[Psyche (painting)|Psyche]] }}
[[File:Solomon Ajax and Cassandra.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Ajax and Cassandra]]'' (1886). In the collection of the [[Art Gallery of Ballarat]] in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], Australia<ref name="tiscali">{{cite web|url=http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speel//paint/solomons.htm|title=Solomon Joseph Solomon RA PRBA (1860-1927)|date=2007-05-17}}</ref>]] [[File:Marchesi Blanche Solomon.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of French mezzo-soprano [[Blanche Marchesi]]]]
'''Solomon Joseph Solomon''' {{post-nominals|list=[[Royal Academy of Arts|RA]] [[Royal Society of British Artists|RBA]]}} (16 September 1860 – 27 July 1927) was a British painter, a founding member of the [[New English Art Club]] and member of the [[Royal Academy]].<ref name="phyrne">{{cite web|url=http://www.phryne.com/artists/89-00-48.HTM|title=Phryne - Solomon Joseph Solomon|date=2007-05-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070723233158/http://www.phryne.com/artists/89-00-48.HTM|archive-date=23 July 2007}}</ref>
Solomon's family was [[Jew]]ish, and his sister, [[Lily Delissa Joseph]] (née Solomon), was also a painter.<ref name="whistler">{{cite web|url=http://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/biog/Solo_SJ.htm|title=Biography for: Solomon Joseph Solomon|date=2007-05-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617122749/http://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/biog/Solo_SJ.htm|archive-date=17 June 2008}}</ref> He made an important contribution to the development of [[Military camouflage|camouflage]] in the [[First World War]], working in particular on tree observation posts and arguing tirelessly for camouflage netting.
==Biography==
Born in London in 1860, Solomon studied at various art schools, sequentially, [[Heatherley School of Fine Art]], the [[Royal Academy Schools]], the [[Academy of Fine Arts, Munich|Munich Academy]], and [[École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts|École des Beaux-Arts]] (under [[Alexandre Cabanel]]). Solomon also studied separately under Rev. S. Singer.<ref name="whistler" /><ref name="valentine">{{cite book|title=Art in the Age of Queen Victoria: Treasures from the Royal Academy of Arts Permanent Collection|author=Helen Valentine|page=158}}</ref> He exhibited his first works as early as 1881, and showed at the Royal Academy, the [[New Gallery (London)|New Gallery]], and the [[Royal Society of British Artists|Society of British Artists]].<ref name="whistler"/> In 1886, he became one of the founding members of the [[New English Art Club]]. In 1896, he became an associate of the Royal Academy, with full membership following in 1906, one of the few Jewish painters to do so.<ref name="whistler"/><ref name="mjp">{{cite web|url=http://dl.lib.brown.edu:8080/exist/mjp/plookup.xq?id=SolomonSolomon|title=Solomon Joseph Solomon (1860-1927)|date=2007-05-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902172726/http://dl.lib.brown.edu:8080/exist/mjp/plookup.xq?id=SolomonSolomon|archive-date=2 September 2006}}</ref> He joined, and became president of, the Society of British Artists in 1919.<ref name="whistler"/> In 1921 "Col. S.J. Solomon, R.A., P.R.B.A." was listed as one of the early members of the newly formed [[Society of Graphic Art]].
Solomon died on 27 July 1927, he is buried at Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery in London.
== Art == [[Image:Solomon Samson and Delilah.jpg|thumb|''Samson'' (1887) which is on display at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. ]]
Solomon's painting was grounded in his influence from his teacher [[Alexandre Cabanel]], but was also influenced by [[Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton|Frederic Leighton]] and [[Lawrence Alma-Tadema]]. Solomon painted mainly portraits to earn a living, but also painted dramatic, theatrical scenes from mythology and the bible on large canvasses. These scenes include some of his more popular paintings. In 1897 he painted a mural for the [[Royal Exchange, London]] ''Charles I demanding the Five Members at the Guildhall, 1641–42''. One of Solomon's most popular works was ''Samson'' (1887), depicting a scene from the biblical story of [[Samson]] and [[Delilah]].<ref name="tiscali"/> This painting was praised for its use of multiple male nudes in active poses.<ref name="valentine"/> ''Samson'' is one of few Solomon paintings on regular display, at the [[Walker Art Gallery]] in [[Liverpool]].<ref name="tiscali"/> Some other Solomon paintings that have received significant attention include ''[[Ajax and Cassandra]]'' (1886) and ''The Birth of Love'' (1896).<ref name="tiscali"/>
Solomon became well known as an innovative portrait artist by the time he painted ''[[Mrs Patrick Campbell]] as 'Paula Tanqueray''' {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|ARA}} (1894),<ref name="whistler" /> her role in [[Arthur Wing Pinero]]'s ''[[The Second Mrs Tanqueray]]'', and went on to paint a number of portraits of well-known people, including the architect [[Aston Webb|Sir Aston Webb]], and later in life, the royals [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]], [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], and [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|Prince Edward]] (later King Edward VIII).<ref name="npg">{{cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp04176&role=art|title=National Portrait Gallery: Solomon Joseph Solomon (1860-1927)|date=2007-05-17}}</ref> Solomon was also in demand as a book illustrator, particularly adventure books.<ref name="mjp"/> In 1914, Solomon authored ''The Practice of Oil Painting and Drawing''. In 1942 his painting [[Psyche (painting)|''Psyche'']] was stolen from [[Robert McDougall Art Gallery]] in [[Christchurch]], [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19420623.2.17 |title=ART GALLERY THEFT |date=23 June 1942 |work=Waikato Times |issue=21762 |page=2 |access-date=30 January 2024 |via=[[PapersPast]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Penelope |title=Art Thieves, Fakers & Fraudsters: The New Zealand Story |publisher=Awa Press |year=2016 |isbn=9781927249512 |pages=70–79}}</ref>
==Camouflage== [[File:Mark I series tank.jpg|right|thumb|A British [[Mark I tank]] with the Solomon camouflage scheme]] During [[World War I]], Solomon was a pioneer of [[Military camouflage|camouflage]] techniques. Having originally signed-up at the start of the war as a [[private (rank)|private]] in The [[Artists Rifles]], a [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Force]] regiment, he promoted his ideas on camouflage, initially in the press and then directly to senior army officers.{{sfn|Rankin|2008|pp=43-44, 111}}
In December 1915, General [[Herbert Plumer]] arranged for Solomon to visit the front lines and investigate techniques in use by the French. His ideas were accepted, and he was asked to set up a team to start the production of camouflage materials in France.{{sfn|Rankin|2008|p=119}} On 31 December 1915, General [[Douglas Haig]], Commander-in-chief of the British forces in France, instructed that Solomon be given the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel to enable him to carry out his new duties.{{sfn|Rankin |2008|p=122}}
{{Main|Camouflage tree}}
The new unit's first task was the design of armoured observation posts disguised as trees, following the pioneering work of the French Section de Camouflage led by [[Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola]]. The first British tree observation post was put up on 22 March 1916. Solomon was effective at the artistic and technical tasks of designing trees and nets, but not as a commander. He was replaced in March 1916, instead becoming a technical advisor, a role that suited him better. In May 1916, he was sent to England to help develop [[tank]] camouflage. Solomon doubted that tanks could be effectively camouflaged since they cast a large shadow. Instead, he argued for the use of camouflage netting, with which he gradually became obsessed, claiming that the Germans were hiding huge armies under immense nets. Camouflage netting was at first considered unimportant by the army; it was not manufactured in large quantities until 1917.<ref name="Forbes">Forbes, 2009. pages 106-109.</ref> Eventually, in 1920, he published a book, ''Strategic Camouflage'', arguing this case, to critical derision in England but with some support from German newspapers.<ref name="Forbes"/>{{sfn|Rankin|2008|p=232}}<ref name="LRB">{{cite journal | url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n12/patrick-wright/cubist-slugs | title=Cubist Slugs | author=Wright, Patrick | journal=London Review of Books |date=23 June 2005 | volume=27 | issue=12 | pages=16–20}}</ref>
In December 1916, Solomon established a camouflage school in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]]{{sfn|Rankin|2008|p=181}} which was eventually taken over by the army.<ref name="Forbes"/>
==Family life== Solomon's sister was artist [[Lily Delissa Joseph]], and his sister's daughter [[Gertrude Golda Lowy]] was a suffragette and member of the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] (WSPU) and the [[Jewish League for Woman Suffrage]].
In 1897 Solomon was married to Ella Montagu , the daughter of Hyman Montagu, F.S.A.
Solomon's daughter, Iris, was married to [[Ewen Montagu]], one of the "brains" behind [[Operation Mincemeat]] in World War Two.<ref>Ben Macintyre. ''Operation Mincemeat''. Bloomsbury, 2010.</ref> Their daughter is art historian [[Jennifer Montagu]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
Solomon was a second-cousin once-removed of the American playwright [[Moss Hart]].{{sfn|Bach|2002|p=340}}
==References== {{Reflist|33em}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book| last=Pery| first=Jenny| title=Solomon J Solomon RA| publisher=[[Ben Uri Art Gallery]]| year=1990}} * {{cite book| last=Rankin| first=Nicholas| author-link=Nicholas Rankin| title=Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945| publisher=[[Faber and Faber]]| year=2008| isbn=978-0-571-22196-7}} * {{cite book |last=Bach |first=Steven |year=2002 |title=Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0306811357 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dazzlerlifetimeso00bach }} * {{cite book |last=Forbes |first=Peter |year=2009 |title=[[Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage]] |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0300178968}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{Art UK bio}} * [http://www.artgraphica.net/free-art-lessons/oil-painting-book/oil-painting-book.html THE PRACTICE OF OIL PAINTING AND OF DRAWING AS ASSOCIATED WITH IT] * [http://www.racollection.org.uk/ixbin/indexplus?_IXACTION_=file&_IXFILE_=templates/full/person.html&_IXTRAIL_=Academicians&person=5898 Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections]
{{Camoufleurs}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Solomon Joseph}} [[Category:1860 births]] [[Category:1927 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century English painters]] [[Category:20th-century English painters]] [[Category:Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni]] [[Category:Alumni of the Heatherley School of Fine Art]] [[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools]] [[Category:British alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts]] [[Category:Camoufleurs]] [[Category:Deception]] [[Category:English Jews]] [[Category:English male painters]] [[Category:Jewish painters]] [[Category:Painters from London]] [[Category:Royal Academicians]] [[Category:Royal Engineers officers]] [[Category:Members of the Royal Society of British Artists]] [[Category:Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery]] [[Category:English children's book illustrators]] [[Category:20th-century English male artists]] [[Category:19th-century English male artists]]