42 HENRY WEEKES, R.A.
English (born in Canterbury;
active in London), 1807-1877
Bust of Mary Seacole, 1859
Marble, with integral marble socle
66 cm (26 in.)
Inscribed at the back: H. WEEKES,
ARA.ISc. 1859.
95.SA.82
Mary Jane Seacole, nee Grant (1805—1881), was an extraordinary Jamaican woman
of mixed race who was best known to the Victorian public as a tireless nurse and
caretaker of British soldiers during the Crimean War. Born in Kingston, Seacole
traveled extensively in South and Central America, gaining valuable experience in
the treatment of cholera and yellow fever. When the war broke out in 1854, she
tried to obtain a position with a British nursing unit but was denied several times.
Establishing her own Crimean "hotel" to provide soldiers with food, lodging, and
medical care, she earned a reputation for selfless devotion and bravery, going daily
to the front lines to tend the wounded and dying. The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs.
Seacole in Many Lands, an autobiography published in 1857, was a huge popular and
commercial success, making hers a household name in Victorian England. Seacole's
identification in this bust is based on its close resemblance in facial type and hairstyle
to documented portraits of her, including a watercolor in the National Library of
Jamaica and a terracotta bust in the Institute of Jamaica.
Weekes, a pupil of Francis Chantrey (1781-1841), established himself primarily
as a portraitist and held the position of Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy
in London from 1868 to 1876. Although the majority of his busts rely on Neoclassical
types established by Chantrey, Weekes sought to introduce an element of fancy or
invention into the genre of portrait sculpture. His bust of Seacole, by far his most
imaginative portrait, combines the naturalistic and the fantastical. The face is
realistically modeled, recording every nuance and dimple in the flesh, and the thick,
crimped hair is gathered back in a snood, a contemporary hair accessory. At the same
time, the head and chest seem to sprout from a cluster of gently curving palm leaves
that effortlessly bear the weight of the marble, and the whole is set atop a convex ring
of stylized foliage. Weekes's innovative, whimsical design and masterful carving make
the Bust of Mary Seacole one of his most accomplished works. PAF
EUROPEAN SCULPTURE 117
