Solomon Alexander Hart (April 1806 – 11 June 1881) was a British painter and engraver. He was the first Jewish member of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in London and was probably the most important Jewish artist working in England in the 19th century.

Biography

He was born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, the son of Samuel Hart (fl. 1785–1830), a Jewish engraver and teacher of Hebrew. After completing his basic education, he was apprenticed to another local engraver. Later, he became the first Jew to enroll at the Royal Academy. While there, he worked in a variety of styles from

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

to historical scenes and practiced several engraving and sketching techniques. He specifically excelled in miniatures. In 1826, he débuted at one of the Academy's exhibitions with a portrait of his father. By 1840, he was successful enough to be accepted as a member of the Academy. The following year, he embarked on a study trip to Italy and spent a great deal of time in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. In 1854, he was appointed a Professor at the Academy and RA Librarian from 1864 to 1881. Although his early works were largely Jewish-themed, his exposure to Italian art (especially the works of

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio (also spelt as Ghirlandajo), was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-c ...

in the Ognissanti) added motifs from church and monastery paintings. He also regularly provided illustrations for periodicals such as '' The Athenaeum'' and ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

''. He never married and, in his later years, gradually lost his eyesight, although he continued to paint up until total loss of his eyesight. Self-portrait - Solomon Alexander Hart - 46 1925 10

Self-portrait - Solomon Alexander Hart - 46 1925 10

Works

*The Proposal of the Jews to Ferdinand and Isabella (in order to secure their residence in Spain), 1870. (Sold for £137,542 on 8/3/2018 by Kestenbaum & Co, New York). * 'Othello and Iago' (1855). Exhibited at the Royal Academy Exhibition 1855 and the London International Exhibition 1862. Both the oil and watercolour versions were exhibited at the London International Exhibition and the watercolour is now held at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.(http://m.vam.ac.uk/collections/item/O1108399/othello-and-iago-watercolour-hart-solomon-alexander/) * Temple of Jews at Shilo Hannah presenting infant to High Priest (1878) (sold on 16 March 1999 for £43,095 by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

New York) * ''Flee Moham'mad Beg who accompanied horses presented by Ima'm of Muscat to King William IV (sold on 29 May 2000 for £29,000 by Eldreds Plymouth)'' * '' he Quarrel of Wolsey and

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

'' (1834) * '' Coeur de Lion and

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

'' (1835) * ''The Young Falconer'' (1835) * ''Sir

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

receiving his Father's Blessing'' (1836) * ''

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

at Her Place of Execution'' (1839) * ''

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

receiving News of the Shipwreck and Death of his Son'' (1840) * '' Milton visiting

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

in Prison'' (1847) * ''The Feast of the Rejoicing of the Law at the Synagogue in Leghorn, Italy'' (1850) * ''The Three Inventors of Printing'' (1852) * ''Hop Picking'' (1852) * ''Solomon pondering the Flight of Time'' (1853) * ''

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

'' (1854) *''Study for Othello & Iago'' (1855) * ''Sacred Music'' (1860) * ''Dilettanti'' (1861) * ''

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venice, Italy, Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello (char ...

and

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' (1863) * ''

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

and Francis I'' (1864) * ''The Eve of the Sabbath'' (1868) * Portrait of Sir

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...

(1869) * ''

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

and

Menasseh Ben Israel Manoel Dias Soeiro (; 1604 – 20 November 1657), better known by his Hebrew language, Hebrew name Menasseh or Menashe ben Israel (), was a Jewish scholar, rabbi, Kabbalah, kabbalist, writer, diplomat, printer (publisher), printer, publishe ...

'' (1873) * ''Troy Weight'' (1874) * ''A Reminiscene of Ravenna'' (1875) * ''Dinner-Time at

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Weald, Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, Kent, River Eden, within the Seveno ...

in 1655'' (1876) * ''Reflection'' (1877) * ''Perfidy'' (1878)

Gallery

File:Lady Jane Grey at Her Place of Execution.jpg, ''Lady Jane Grey at Her Place of Execution'', 1839

References and sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

*
An artwork after Solomon Hart
at th
Ben Uri
site
ArtNet: More works by Hart."This Day in Jewish History: An Artist Who Sought to Connect the 'English' With the 'Jewish' Dies"
@

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Solomon Alexander 1806 births 1881 deaths 19th-century English male artists 19th-century English painters Artists from Plymouth, Devon 19th-century British Jews 19th-century English engravers English illustrators English male painters English Orthodox Jews Jewish engravers Jewish illustrators Jewish painters Religious artists Royal Academicians