Thursday, January 13, 2005
SOMETHING PRECIOUS....
Wow, HIStory comes out in so many forms, after hearing this in worldwide radio, I followed up the story:
http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/home.html
A press conference was held on Monday morning at the National Portrait Gallery to announce the discovery of a portrait of Mary Seacole, Crimean war hero and greatest Black Briton,painted by a hitherto unknown artist called Albert Charles Challen. Painted in 1869 when Mary would have been 64 years old, she is portayed in the painting as wearing a bright red Creole scarf and and the medals she was awarded for her service - the British Crimean Medal, the Turkish Medjidie and the French Legion of Honour. It was by these medals that the biographer and historian Helen Rappaport recognised the identity of the sitter.
The image of the woman who refused to let racial prejudice prevent her from becoming a nursing pioneer was discovered by a dealer at a car boot sale in Warwickshire. The portrait, which measures about 9.5 inches by 7 inches, was found because the inscription caught the dealer's eye. He sold it on to a military historian who then contacted Helen Rappaport, who had been researching Seacole's life for three years. 'I almost fell off my chair when I saw it', she said on Monday. 'It's a defining image of her, dignified, mature and at the height of her powers'.
The painting is now on indefinite loan to the National Portrait Gallery, and will be on display in Room 23. The discovery of this portrait is serendipitous, especially in the light of the efforts of many, including the 100 Great Black Britons campaign, and Clive Soley MP and Dr. Elizabeth Anoniwou of the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal Committee to promote Seacole to her proper place among Britian's icons and heroes. Further recognition of her place in British historyare in the form of new biographies outh this month, celebrations of the bicentenary of her birth being launched at St Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust on 25th January, and Channel Four will be screening a new drama documentary on her life and work in the spring.
After a century of obscurity, and no acknowledgement of her contribution to the birth of modern nursing, it appears that Mary Seacole's star is to burn bright once more.
ANOTHER THING THAT IS GOING ON ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND:
BLACK BRITISH STYLE:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1341_black_british_style/
http://www.topshop.co.uk/promostores/tops/index.html?menuID=1&id=5
http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/home.html
A long lost portrait of Mary Seacole has been discovered!
A press conference was held on Monday morning at the National Portrait Gallery to announce the discovery of a portrait of Mary Seacole, Crimean war hero and greatest Black Briton,painted by a hitherto unknown artist called Albert Charles Challen. Painted in 1869 when Mary would have been 64 years old, she is portayed in the painting as wearing a bright red Creole scarf and and the medals she was awarded for her service - the British Crimean Medal, the Turkish Medjidie and the French Legion of Honour. It was by these medals that the biographer and historian Helen Rappaport recognised the identity of the sitter.
The image of the woman who refused to let racial prejudice prevent her from becoming a nursing pioneer was discovered by a dealer at a car boot sale in Warwickshire. The portrait, which measures about 9.5 inches by 7 inches, was found because the inscription caught the dealer's eye. He sold it on to a military historian who then contacted Helen Rappaport, who had been researching Seacole's life for three years. 'I almost fell off my chair when I saw it', she said on Monday. 'It's a defining image of her, dignified, mature and at the height of her powers'.
The painting is now on indefinite loan to the National Portrait Gallery, and will be on display in Room 23. The discovery of this portrait is serendipitous, especially in the light of the efforts of many, including the 100 Great Black Britons campaign, and Clive Soley MP and Dr. Elizabeth Anoniwou of the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal Committee to promote Seacole to her proper place among Britian's icons and heroes. Further recognition of her place in British historyare in the form of new biographies outh this month, celebrations of the bicentenary of her birth being launched at St Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust on 25th January, and Channel Four will be screening a new drama documentary on her life and work in the spring.
After a century of obscurity, and no acknowledgement of her contribution to the birth of modern nursing, it appears that Mary Seacole's star is to burn bright once more.
ANOTHER THING THAT IS GOING ON ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND:
BLACK BRITISH STYLE:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1341_black_british_style/
http://www.topshop.co.uk/promostores/tops/index.html?menuID=1&id=5
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