Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H , Case PD, Shelf 86, Box B

'Twas Love, Cold, Dead Indeed, but Not Dethroned' ['Isablla' by John Keats]

Drawing
1885 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

pencil drawing on paper


Object details

Category
Object type
Title'Twas Love, Cold, Dead Indeed, but Not Dethroned' ['Isablla' by John Keats] (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pencil on paper
Brief description
Drawing, 'Twas Love, Cold, Dead Indeed, but Not Dethroned' ['Isablla' by John Keats], by Simeon Solomon, British School, 1885
Physical description
pencil drawing on paper
Dimensions
  • Height: 10 3/4in
  • Width: 14in
Styles
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
S.S.1885 (Monogram and date)
Object history
Given by Sir William Hale-White, KBE, FRCP, 1931
Bibliographic reference
The following excerpts are taken from the GLBTQ Archive Encyclopedia, © 2015, glbtq, Inc.: "Associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th century, Simeon Solomon lived a life marked by both stunning success and unfortunate tragedy. Significant in LGBTQ culture for living openly as a gay man in the Victorian period, at a time when it was not at all socially acceptable to do so, he wrote an important prose poem in 1870 that may be read as a defense of male-male desire. Privately published, it was entitled A Vision of Love Revealed in Sleep. Around this time, he was also creating works depicting androgynous male figures who are representative of homoerotic love. The opening of the Dudley Gallery in London in 1865 allowed Solomon and other artists to exhibit works with more daring subjects than those accepted at the Royal Academy. During these years Solomon created such works of homoerotic content as 'Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytelene' (1864), 'Love among the School Boys' (1866), 'The Bride and Bridegroom' (1866), 'Sad Love' (1866), 'Love in Autumn' (1866), and two versions of 'Bacchus' (1866 and 1867). Although he had earned recognition as an artist in his lifetime, Solomon's life and career deteriorated after his arrest for "buggery" in 1873. He may be seen as a victim of late 19th century English homophobia as he lived most of the remaining 32 years of his life as a social outcast and his work faded into oblivion after his death in 1905. It has only recently been re-examined".
Collection
Accession number
E.541-1931

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest