Art history in the pub - the Monarch, Camden

Associated media

Carolyn Conroy, ‘Sins of the City’: The Arrest of Simeon Solomon in London, 1873.

30 June, 7.30p.m. The Monarch Pub, Camden

The arrest and conviction for attempted sodomy of the Jewish, Pre-Raphaelite, and Aesthetic artist Simeon Solomon in London in 1873 is the focus of this talk. At the time of his arrest Solomon was at the height of his artistic fame. He associated with, and worked alongside, the elite of the British art world including the Pre-Raphaelites Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, and poet Algernon Swinburne. However, his conviction changed the course of his life. He was shunned by former friends, and despite a continued artistic output, spent the rest of his thirty-three years living in and out of poverty in common lodging houses and the workhouse, and in his own words 'mingling with the ungodly'.

A close reading of the original documents that relate to Solomon’s arrest in 1873 provide a fascinating insight into the legal process of arrest, trial and conviction of sodomy cases in the latter part of the nineteenth century in England. This talk reveals the humiliating experience of the intimate medical examination that Solomon and his co-accused were forced to endure in the Marylebone Police Station, and studies the sense of panic and fear to be found in the correspondence of London’s artistic elite as any association with the artist became a deep cause for concern.

Carolyn is a former post-doc tutor and researcher at the University of York. She has researched the life and work of Simeon Solomon for the past ten years, co-edits the online Simeon Solomon Research Archive  with Roberto C. Ferrari, and is currently working on a biography of the artist’s life.

Forthcoming talk:

28 July – Ben Street, ‘What A Jolly Boring Thing To Do’: Art in Pop Music, 1967 - 2014

Directions & Details
The speaker talks for about 30 minutes followed by questions. The talk takes place in the main bar, it is free, entertaining, and anyone is welcome.

The Monarch
40-42 Chalk Farm Road
Camden NW1 8BG

Telephone: 020 7482205

Nearest tubes Chalk Farm and Camden Town

See AAH website for details