The Letter

After Ben Solowey died in 1978, Allan and Joan Reiskin stopped to visit Rae on the farm when they came from Connecticut to visit Joan’s mother in the Philadelphia area. At that time, everyone entered the studio through Ben’s workshop, and when they entered the shop, Rae wiped her feet on what looked to be canvases on the floor. Upon closer inspection, the Reiskins discovered that the canvases were paintings. When they asked Rae about them, she said casually, “Oh these, I forgot to burn them.” Ben did burn canvases over the years that no longer met his criteria for keeping, or he simply needed the space. It is not surprising that he chose this work in that group, as was a painting from his youth, either when he a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, or soon thereafter.

The Reiskins persuaded Rae to let them have the paintings so they could experiment with painting or cleaning. They had the three paintings professionally restored and they proved to be significant early works.

Who is this woman? When and why did she sit for Ben Solowey? These are the questions when encountering this painting for the first time. Ben Solowey attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia on a scholarship from 1919 – 1923. For an artist with a natural talent, Ben reveled in the techniques, styles, and history he learned at the Academy. Once students were deemed proficient in drawing from the sculpture casts in the school’s basement, they moved on to “Life and Head” classes, where students painted and drew from live models. This painting may be from one of those classes, although it seems larger than a typical student’s work. It is also more accomplished than earlier portraits from the 1920s that we do have dates for.

The subject may have been a hired model or a friend. He also used members of his extended family, but after reviewing photo of family members from this time, we have effectively ruled out her being a family member. Even though Ben was still mastering the perspective of the arms and the hands in this painting, it is a strong painting of a woman who remains unknown.