The Lady Lever Art Gallery is placing a painting featuring an enslaved African person at the front and centre of its displays.
The oil painting of Catherine-Marie Legendre, painted about 1705 and attributed to Jean Baptiste Santerre (1658-1717), is the only item from the gallery’s 18th century collection to depict a person of colour.
Following a period in conservation, the painting will be on display from 1 October 2021 in a new and more prominent position on gallery, acknowledging its context.
The Gallery will be inviting comment in order to begin a conversation with visitors about how problematic and disturbing works might be displayed in a way that ensures the collections are not seen and viewed through a single historic lens, but instead reflect multiple histories.