Mary Seacole, 1869

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Mary Seacole (1805–1881) came to public prominence through her nursing activities during the Crimean War (1853–56). Rebuffed, probably due to her mixed-race background, when she tried to join Florence Nightingale’s nursing sisters, she travelled independently to Balaklava, establishing the British Hotel which served as an officers’ club, a canteen for troops and a base for her nursing activities. She published her memoir Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands in 1857. While she was certainly the most famous black British woman of the nineteenth century, her historical significance was neglected for decades.

This portrait dates from the last period of Seacole’s life, when she was in her sixties. She wears a traditional Caribbean scarf and three roughly delineated medals commemorating her involvement in the Crimean War. Although she received no official British honour, she no doubt wore her medals to demonstrate pride in her achievements and her strong sense of comradeship with Crimean war veterans.

National Portrait Gallery, London. Purchased with help from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Gallery supporters, 2008
© National Portrait Gallery, London