Gallery snaps up portrait of the greatest black Briton

THE only known painting of the Victorian nurse voted the greatest black Briton has been bought by the National Portrait Gallery for £130,000.

The portrait of Crimean War heroine Mary Seacole, which was found at a car boot sale, has been on loan since 2004.

Seacole, who was born in Jamaica in around 1805 to a Scottish father and a mixed-race mother, treated wounded soldiers in Crimea and became a familiar figure to British newspaper readers through reports of her work in The Times and Punch. Painted by Albert Challen in 1869, the portrait shows Seacole wearing the three medals awarded for her service.

Wesley Kerr, chairman of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "This is a moving and powerful painting that brings to life the courage, compassion and determination of an important figure in British history," he said.

The portrait was discovered in July 2003 concealed behind a print purchased at a boot sale in Oxfordshire.

A dealer noticed an inscription and sold the picture at auction. It was then acquired by a historian who recognised the identity of the sitter.