print;
newspaper/periodical
- Museum number
- 1860,0714.1120
- Title
- Object: Spending a Sou
- Description
-
A street-trader seated in foreground at left under an umbrella, selling apples from a basket to a little girl; a boy and spinning young woman standing nearby, two figures approaching behind, and a third walking away past houses towards a mountain; illustration from the 'Illustrated London News', 4 December 1858, p.518; after Rebecca Solomon.
Wood-engraving and letterpress
- Production date
- 1858
- Dimensions
-
Height: 232 millimetres (image)
-
Width: 315 millimetres (image)
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- The painting was first exhibited at the 'Sixth Annual Winter Exhibition' at the French Gallery, London in 1858–59 (no.114) and remains untraced. The print was republished in 'L'Univers Illustré', 28 June 1860, p.245 as 'La dépense d'un sou', and accompanied by commentary by Marie Ferrié ('La dépense d'un sou', p.246).
The print was accompanied by the following commentary: "Miss Rebecca Solomons [sic] has a very telling little picture in the Winter Exhibition, Pall Mall, entitled 'Spending a sou', of which we give an engraving. It has obviously been studied from real life in the marketplace of some little town in the north of France. There sits the venerable fruitwoman, under her capacious umbrella of dubious plum-coloured cotton. Her wares have tempted a small child in quaint attire, and with close skullcap on her little round head, after the fashion of the country, and who is about to make a purchase, determined to have her sou's worth for her sou. Near at hand is the child's mother, who plies her distaff as she walks; and nearer the spectator the young lady's brother, whose hands dive hopelessly into his pockets, which, alas! are empty. This is of a class of works which are sure to find admirers amongst young and old" ('Spending a sou, by Miss Rebecca Solomons', p.517).
- Location
- Not on display
- Associated titles
Associated Title: Illustrated London News
- Acquisition date
- 1860
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1860,0714.1120
