The subject is taken from an episode recounted by Apollorus - Odysseus, pretending to be insane, hoping to avoid his fate in the form of the Trojan War, ploughs his fields with salt; Palamedes (hooded) is about to prove that Odysseus is not mad,  by putting baby Telemachus in the way of the plough, at which point Odysseus will abandon his pretence.  

Alexander exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1931 onwards, a 19 year old prodigy.  She is best know for her sculptures, often of animals and inspired by Grecian myths.  This early early work hung in Alexander's  house in Cranbrook Kent during her lifetime and was subsequently sold as part of her estate.