This is the only known oil painting of Mary Seacole – once an almost unknown nurse from the Crimean War, but now thankfully a key part of the education curriculum in the UK. It was discovered in December 2002 by her biographer, Helen Rappaport and is in the care of the NPG.

It makes me wonder how many other wonderful people are still ‘locked’ in museum collections, not yet centre stage in the story of our country and the world, not yet properly recognised and celebrated, like Mary Seacole is today, well over a century after she died.

It’s one of the most recognised images of Seacole, but it’s not the only one. Art UK have a very readable and informative blog piece about representation of Mary Seacole by Samantha Pinto.

There’s also a quick lesson suggestion on the NPG’s website that’s worth a look if you’re teaching with this painting.

Thanks to Art UK and NPG for making the image available for the public here: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/mary-jane-seacole-nee-grant-155344