the painting was auctioned by his executors in 1897. It later came into the collection of Solomon Golding, and was sold by his son Jessel Golding at Sotheby's in 1980, when it was bought by the Tate. The Tate also holds Solomon's slightly earlier, c.1842, graphite on paper study of Sappho's head, also acquired in 1980. Each has somewhat androgynous features, with Sappho depicted by Solomon as more masculine and Erinna as more feminine, with softer features and partially exposed chest and shoulders. An 1865 drawing by Solomon develops the theme, with Erinna and Sappho now accompanied by a male companion. Sappho looks disconsolate are Erinna's affections are turned away towards the man, perhaps echoing the lines of Sappho 94. References Simeon Solomon, Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene, 1864, Tate Gallery Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene, Simeon Solomon (1840–1905), Tate, ArtUK Simeon Solomon, Study of Sappho, 1862, Tate Gallery Fictions of Sappho, 1546-1937, Joan DeJean, Joan Dejean, University of Chicago Press, 1989, ISBN 0226141357, p. 225 "Solomon, Swinburne, Sappho", Elizabeth Prettejohn (2008), Victorian Review, 34(2), p. 103–128 External links "Sappho's queer spaces: an analysis of Simeon Solomon's Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene", 2017, Natalie Pretzman Cultural depictions of Sappho 1864 paintings Watercolor paintings Collection of the Tate galleries LGBT art