A series of portraits have been commissioned from artist Lela Harris depicting historic Black individuals; Thomas Anson, Frances Elizabeth Johnson, John Chance, Isaac Rawlinson, ‘Ebo Boy’, Molly.
A series of beautiful new portraits have been commissioned from artist Lela Harris depicting historic Black individuals who lived in Lancaster in the 1700s; Thomas Anson, Frances Elizabeth Johnson, John Chance, Isaac Rawlinson, ‘Ebo Boy’ and Molly.
They are shown alongside some of those who benefitted from slavery including: Abraham Rawlinson, Mary Hutton Rawlinson, Benjamin Satterthwaite and Jane Hardman painted by significant portrait artists including George Romney and Joseph Wright of Derby.
Artist Lela Harris illustrated the Folio Society edition of The Colour Purple by Alice Walker in 2021 and was V&A Illustration Award – Runner Up in 2022.
The portraits are accompanied by a young people's exhibition. Local school children have created portraits of ‘Ebo Boy’. He is a young African man who escaped from slavery in Heysham, Lancashire. Enslaved Africans were often given new names to strip them of their identity. The children helped give ‘Ebo Boy’ a new name to reflect his African heritage and life story, Afamefuna. This means ‘my name will not be lost’ in the Igbo language.
The more you see, the more we do.
The National Art Pass lets you enjoy free entry to hundreds of museums, galleries and historic places across the UK, while raising money to support them.