HERO AT ABYDOS
signed with initials and dated SS / 94 lower left
oil on canvas
39.5 x 51cm; 15½ x 20 1/4in
56 x 69cm; 22 x 27 3/4in (framed)

Property from a Private Collection, Cumbria

Provenance
Rachel Simmons (née Solomon), the artist's cousin
By descent from the above
J S Maas & Co., London
Purchased by the present owner in the early 1980s

Exhibited
London, Geffrye Museum and Birmingham, Museum and Art Gallery, Solomon: A Family of Painters, 1985-86, no. 73

The Greek myth of the passionate love affair between the Priestess Hero and the young Leander from Abydos ends in tragedy when one winter night Leander sees the torch at the top of Hero's tower on the other side of the strait of Hellespont. He attempts to swim the strait to visit her, but halfway across a strong wind blows out Hero's light, and he loses his way and drowns. When Hero sees Leander's dead body she throws herself off the tower to join him in death. Their bodies wash up on shore locked in embrace, and the couple are buried in a lover's tomb.