'Painting our Past' is a new exhibition of portraits, six portraits each depicting an
historical figure from the African diaspora. Each of them have really interesting links
to properties in the care of English Heritage. Commissioned by English Heritage, these portraits
will be displayed at the forts, abbeys, country houses and even the barracks where these people
lived, worked or visited. In many cases their stories are just not well known. This is an
opportunity through this project and working with these artists to bring these stories
to life and share them with our visitors. From Septimius Severus, the African-born Roman
emperor who strengthened Hadrian's Wall… to James Chappell, a servant who lived here
at Kirby Hall in the 17th century, these portraits span the century and shed new light on the
presence of African people here in England.
My name is Hannah Uzor and I'm an artist. I deal with historical figures, particularly
black historical figures, and I represent them through portraiture and film. I don’t
always paint historical figures, but there always has to be a narrative behind the character
that I’m painting. Hannah’s painting portrays Sarah Forbes
Bonetta, or Aina as she was originally known. Aina was born in 1843 to a West African ruler,
but she was captured by African slavers and taken to modern day Benin. It was in 1850
that she was presented as a ‘diplomatic gift’ to Frederick Forbes, the captain of
HMS Bonetta and this is how she got her anglicised name ‘Sarah Forbes Bonetta’. Captain Forbes
took her back to Britain and presented her at the court of Queen Victoria. And Queen
Victoria took a great interest in this young lady and supported her through her education
and effectively became her guardian. And indeed, Sarah visited Osborne – Queen Victoria’s
holiday home on the Isle of Wight – at many times throughout her life.
I was really intrigued with her story. And I discovered her through reading a book by
David Olusoga ‘Black and British: A Forgotten History’ and when I found her story it was
quite intriguing and I began to research a bit more, particular as I needed to know more
about her life and her experience. In my depiction of Sarah I wanted the audience
to see a strong, black, confident woman… but also an elegant black woman… and comfortable
in her own skin, and comfortable in the position that she found herself in.
She was royalty, she’d always been royalty… and here was a picture that I wanted to depict
showing that royalty in her black skin. It looked like a perfect painting without
the fabric on it but I really wanted to see if I could stretch the limits of the experience
of the audience by adding this additional layer… a contrast, an antagonistic moment
for me as an artist but also for the audience when they see this depiction… this black
woman in an untraditional dressing. I think it’s a really great privilege to
be part of such a wonderful project by English Heritage, and having these other artists tell
stories of how black historical figures have been forgotten is a really important thing,
not only for those who are living now but for the future generations… the legacy of
those individuals and telling their stories from generation to generation.
Sometimes when we look at history we feel very disconnected from the subject matter
that we’re looking at because we think it’s something that’s happened in the past. But
in terms of historical figures, we know that their descendants are actually living today
and some of those individuals we’ve actually been contact with…I’ve been in contact
with as well, and so history is a very living thing. It’s not something that’s set in
stone but it’s something that’s continuing. And in Sarah Forbes’ case, her descendants
are still living here in the UK and in Nigeria as well.
Before I started painting Dido Belle I’d say I didn’t know a lot about her, but working
through this whole process for English Heritage they gave me a lot of info on her. I was so
excited to try and get in to creating my version of Dido Belle.
Dido Belle was the daughter a young, enslaved black woman and a white royal navy officer.
She spent most of her time as part of the Murray household and she grew up right at
the heart of Georgian London and spent most of her life at Kenwood House on Hampstead
Heath. She is someone to pay attention to, someone
I believe had a voice because she had an important role... she is not just the daughter of a
slave, of a white man, and she was just lucky to be brought up in Kenwood House.
I like the placement of her hands where she’s just softly resting in front of her body.
It’s almost giving a sense of femininity… I also think, femininity doesn’t seem to
be linked with people of colour, of women, seems to be harsh, hard…
She’s a strong figure. She also can be soft, not all these other narratives sometimes placed
on Black women, maybe harsh, rough, mean… A lot of my paintings have head wraps and
I like to work with them because there’s this history about black women needing to
cover up their hair and I thought at that time… they didn’t know what to do with
curly hair! So the solution was to simply cover it up.
To have this kind of fabric wrapped around her head it’s not just any type of cloth…
that’s just to show the importance of her. In my head I wanted her silk dress to be this
dark, deep green because I know from experience that it goes well against brown, melanated
skin… it just makes you stand out when wearing green.
There was this distinct shadow line right down the middle of her face… you’ve got
this very, very light side, and this very dark side, and you put it together and you’ve
got Dido Belle. So I thought that was just a good commentary on who she is and what she
is. It feels great to be part of this almost like
a… it’s a group exhibition even though everyone’s a different places, it’s just
to see how everyone interpreted painting these historical figures. People of colour who were
embedded in British history that we’re trying to bring to the front like ‘look, we’ve
always been here’ [laughs]. We just wanted to show them in a really good light and show
all the things that they did. So, it’s quite an exciting thing to try and bring light to
such a topic.
Whilst you’re painting, I think a bit like perhaps when an actor is taking on a role
they really try and understand that person… My background is in history and art history
so that often begins my research… often begins with those, going to the past to look
at things which I’m finding interesting or very relevant to what’s going on now.
Elena’s portrait shows us the Roman emperor, Septimius Severus. Septimius Severus was born
in Leptis Magna which is in modern day Libya in North Africa. And he came to Britain in
the early 200s to strengthen the Roman presence in the north of Britannia. He subjugated…
certainly attempted to subjugate the local tribes there before falling back effectively
to strengthen Hadrian’s Wall. So not only did he make his mark on Roman Britain but
he actually also died in Britain, in York, in 211.
It was really important to have a kind of total version of him, the good and the bad.
He is a person, no one’s perfect… and I think that gives also a more rich version
of history. People would ask me like ‘oh but you know, he did this, and he did that,
and that’s not so great’ you’re like ‘but you know, you have to consider this’
and you become very kind of forgiving, maybe? Maybe too forgiving!
The symbols in the fresco on the top, they reference the narrative of his life as well
as the way he chose to represent himself in his coins.
You know, I really found it interesting the way that he seemed so astute and clever and
very original in the way he thought. When it comes to the face in my initial sketches
I actually did one side of the face which was kind of frowning and the other side had
a small smiling expression, cos I kind of wanted to have this inability to pin the expression
down which whilst painting it reduced a little but I hope that kind of stays in the painting.
He was very much in control of the information about him, and I really got this image of
someone who was a bit of a moralist, who was very quick at solving problems and a very
inquiring mind… The hand over the knee and then the hand which
is over the scroll again referencing that kind of control over information and the way
he was seen. I actively chose a pose where he was leaning
forward because I thought that really conveyed the fact that he was somebody who was always
moving about and that was quick to act. The fall of the garments, particularly of the
top area was quite important. Leaning forwards towards us and in dialogue with us directly
but also kind of perhaps holding something back… and somebody who’s quite severe
and quite… there’s a little bit of secrecy always there with him.
To get to know these incredible other artists and see how they’ve approached the project
and how they’ve brought to life these other figures which are so important… they exist
among many other figures lost to history so I’m really excited to see that this is just
the beginning… It’s so important that Septimius kind of
exists within a space that he belongs to. I hope that it helps visitors to kind of re-envision
this past… this British past, that point in time in which that area of the world must
have been so multicultural and so interesting.
My energy comes from my Dad. My Dad showed me how to draw and I haven’t looked back
since, you know. I’ve been painting for a long time… I don’t need energy anymore
it’s something that you do! [Laughs] Clifton’s portrait will be displayed at
St Augstine’s Abbey in Canterbury and it shows us St Hadrian. St Hadrian was the Abott
of St Augstine’s and he arrived in the England in the 7th century. He was a man renowned
for his diplomacy as well as for his great learning.
The first thing about the process is…was the time, the century. And I think that’s
the first challenge. And the next thing is about where he’s from… what tribe or,
you know… It’s not only the person, it’s who the
person is… what the person does. I use music to connect with the painting that
I do. For this painting I used Gregorian chant and this helped me to connect spiritually
with the work. The face was important, because the face tell
the personal of where he’s from… I didn’t want…a passive looking Hadrian.
I wanted to read from his face and his eyes, and that’s what I was looking into. But
to get that reading, everything had to come in place like a jigsaw. But I didn’t want
a nice, smiling, lovely, passive person… I wanted to look in his soul, deep within
his soul, because that is Hadrian when you look into his soul.
You think as a painter you could just do it, but it takes more than that. It takes study,
just to know who you’re painting, and it makes you feel more, you know, involved and
special to be doing something like that. I went to the Abbey on a virtual tour during
lockdown, so… when you’re doing something like that you have to be there. I’m taking
notes, they have loads of cameras going around and they showed me everything… things that
I need to know, and things I didn’t know that I needed to know.
We identified where the painting is going to go. So the wall settings of the work, you
know, that dark red look, all the setting is designed for that space.
I try and get the colours to fit where it’s going to be hung, with what it’s going to
be there with, with the rest of the exhibit that is there.
I’m impressed by his accomplishment. As an artist to paint him now, today after all
those years… it’s overwhelming. It’s an overwhelming feeling.
My name’s Chloe Cox. I go by the artist name Artcee, and I’m an oil painter focusing
on portraiture. In my work I usually paint people from ethnic
minority backgrounds or ethnic minority communities. I just like to really represent the underrepresented.
Chloe’s portrait depicts an individual called Arthur Roberts. He’s the son of a Trinidadian
man who was born in Bristol and brought up in Glasgow. In 1917, Arthur Roberts enlisted
into the British army and he joined the King’s Own Scottish Borderers. Now that regimental
base was at Berwick-Upon-Tweed. This regimental base would have been the heart, the home of
the regiment and everybody who was in that regiment would have strongly identified with
that place. Arthur served for the remainder of the First World War and even fought at
the battle of Passchendaele. Before I started the painting, I didn’t
know anything about Arthur Roberts and it was a pleasure to find out a lot more about
him. I have this book called ‘As Good as Any
Man’ which sort of explores his diary entries, and reading that really enlightened aspects
of his personality, his journey throughout the war…
Reading what he had written in his diary really felt like I was building a connection with
him as a person, and almost made me want to honour him even more in my painting.
I definitely felt I got to know him. He was quite a relatable character actually.
What was a step away from my comfort zone was the fact that the photos were all black
and white, they were quite grainy, cos I’m used to either taking my own photos or requesting
really high quality photos to draw from. There were a few photos of him in his uniforms
for me to choose from, and some of them were him as a new recruit, and others were him
later in his career and higher up in rank as a solider. And so I specifically chose
one where he had gotten higher in the ranks and looked more the part, and looked a lot
more comfortable in his uniform. I liked that… I wanted to show him in some level of seniority.
When people see this painting, I just want them to see a real human being and not see
just a black man. I want them to see a person who’s got a sense of charm and confidence,
and someone who contributed to the war effort the same as his fellow counterparts in the
army. I’m really proud to have my work displayed
at Berwick-Upon-Tweed barracks. It’s the first time that my work has been commissioned
to be part of a museum collection. So far most of my work goes into someone’s home
which is great but I don’t get to see it ever again, whereas here it’s on public
display and I’m really excited about that and honoured to be part of the project.
As a person of mixed heritage as well… representing a lost sort of figure in history and bringing
them to life and representing Arthur basically, doing that for him…has been a real accomplishment
for me.
It was only around the time that I started uni that I really delved into portraiture
but before that everything was an adventure, an experiment and I wasn’t quite sure what
I wanted to do. I used to work in a lot of these art renaissance
halls and things like that, and I just loved to look around the art when I was free on
my break. I didn’t see myself represented in it. What if I could represent the black
people, the black Europeans that I don’t see? What if I could put something I don’t
see into a world that I love? Glory’s portrait shows us James Chappell.
James was a servant at Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire and he entered the service of the Hatton family
at around about the age of 15 in 1672. And he worked in the service of the Hatton family
until the death of Christopher Hatton in 1706. And at that point he was given a pension which
enabled him to setup home in the local area, and indeed the stories say that he became
the landlord of the local pub. I went on a historical trip to Kirby Hall
where James Chappell actually lived and it was really inspiring. I love being in the
presence of where these historical figures actually existed.
The fact that he could look back at his life and be proud of his service to the Hatton’s…
I just want people to look at him and see like a stoic figure, someone who was proud
of his life. He is in these 18th century aristocratic clothing,
probably a tailcoat with a cravat, he has an afro…
He’s in this lovely baroque chair, lovely ornamented chair, with the curtains draping
behind him… I wanted to give him the presence that, like,
he wanted you to know he’s there, he’s not just a hidden figure anymore, he’s coming
out and he’s going to be among all of those other characters.
He’s part of the story! He’s not just going to be hidden for any longer. There might
be many more. I’d love to bring their story to life through portraiture, through a painting.
All these unnamed… they don’t have any historical… visual references, I’d love
to give them a name and a face.
‘Painting our Past’ is perhaps an unusual exhibition in so far as it’s spread right
across England in these six wonderful places. But what better time has there been to see
these fantastic sites, these locations, and to look at these wonderful, arresting portraits
and to understand more about the impact of the lives of people from Africa in England’s
story. The exhibition opens on 9 June and you can find out much more information about
the artists and about the individuals portrayed in the portraits by following the links below.