Second Class: The Parting

Painting, oil on panel, Second Class: The Parting 'Thus part we rich in sorrow, Parting poor', by Abraham Solomon, 1855. Depicts passengers in a second class railway carriage. A woman, dressed in black widow’s clothes with a hood and bonnet covering her hair, is seated with her left arm around a boy sailor, clasping his right hand in hers. Facing them is a tearful young woman, holding a handkerchief to her face. There is a carpet bag and bundle of luggage on the seats alongside. Seated behind them are a bearded sailor, wearing an earring and straw hat, and a woman with a colourful bonnet. On the wall of the carriage are advertisements for sea passages to Australia, gold digging equipment and emigrants’ outfits. Through the carriage window is a port with ships’ masts. Framed and glazed. Also known as The Departure (Second Class).