11 January, 2005, 05:04 GMT
> BBC
>
> The only known portrait of nurse Mary Seacole, last
> year voted the greatest
> Black Briton in history, has been found more than
> 100 years after her
> death. An extraordinary Jamaican woman, Mary Seacole
> traveled extensively
> in Central and South America, where she learned to
> treat yellow fever and
> cholera. During the Crimean War, she followed the
> troops as a sutler, one
> of the many people offering hospitality services and
> running inns, bars,
> and restaurants. In the Ukraine, in addition to
> running a hotel, she
> supplied medical services to British troops on the
> front line, remaining
> even longer than her fellow nurse Florence
> Nightingale.
>
> The oil painting of Seacole, the daughter of a
> Scottish soldier and
> Jamaican mother, lay unseen for years. The 9.5ins by
> 7ins painting will now
> go on display at the National Portrait Gallery in
> London. The artwork was
> painted by London artist Albert Challen and dates
> from around 1869 showing
> an older Seacole wearing a red neckerchief and the
> three medals which she
> was awarded for service. There are no other known
> painted portraits of
> Seacole, who died in 1881 in her London home.
> Seacole was voted Greatest
> Black Briton in an online poll last year, while 2005
> marks the bicentenary
> of her birth.
>
> The first step in its discovery began when a dealer,
> curious about the
> inscription AC Challen 1869 on the work, unsealed
> the frame. Apparently
> unaware of what he had found, the dealer sold the
> portrait at a local
> auction in Warwickshire. After being approached
> about the nature of the
> medals on the figure by another dealer, historian
> Helen Rappaport
> immediately recognised the identity of the sitter,
> bought the portrait and
> took it to the National Portrait Gallery for
> examination.
>
> Ms Rappaport, the portrait's owner, said: "As an
> admirer of Mary Seacole's
> courage and humanitarianism, I am extremely happy
> that she can at last take
> her rightful place in British history as an
> important female personality of
> the Crimean War."
>
> Experts at the gallery believe the details of
> Seacole's dress and the
> portrait's pigments show the painting is genuine.
> Sandy Nairne, director of
> the National Portrait Gallery, said: "This is a
> wonderful discovery.
> "A painted portrait allows us to appreciate the
> important 19th-century
> figure of Mary Seacole in new ways."
>
> Seacole remained in the Crimea until 1856 with a
> reputation that rivalled
> that of Florence Nightingale.
> When she returned to England destitute, commanders
> in the Crimea raised
> money for the nurse, who was awarded the British
> Crimean medal, the Turkish
> Medjidie and the French Legion of Honour.
>
> After the war, Seacole published her autobiography,
> The Wonderful
> Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, which
> became a huge popular and
> commercial success.
>
>
> RELATED BBC LINKS:
> BBC - Mary Seacole
>
>