#sarahForbesBonetta

[artbookdap]

This 1862 Camille Silvy portrait of James Pinson Labulo Davies and Sarah Forbes Bonetta is reproduced from 'Love Stories: Art, Passion & Tragedy' @nationalportraitgallery⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Essayist Clare Freestone describes a complicated history. ⁠⁠ He was 14 years her senior. They had only met once when he proposed. And she had been orphaned as a Yoruba girl, brought to England by an abolitionist captain who saved her from being sold into slavery, then taken under the wing of the Queen. Like many socially constrained couples of the nineteenth century, though they did not marry for love, they ultimately found happiness together. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ "She questioned marrying Davies against choice; ‘I don’t feel a particle of love for him and have never done so,⁠⁠ though now it is a year since he last asked me. What am I to do?’ Sarah eventually acquiesced and married⁠⁠ James Davies on 14 August 1862. The pressure of⁠⁠ royal approval had no doubt steered her decision. The lavish ceremony took place at St Nicholas Church in Brighton, led by the Bishop of Sierra Leone with sixteen bridesmaids in attendance and ten carriages in the procession. Just before the couple sailed for Africa, where Davies’ work was based, they were photographed by the fashionable photographer Camille Silvy who made a series of portraits to mark their marriage in his thriving Bayswater studio. Once settled in colonial Lagos, Sarah’s letters indicate her growing affection and respect for her husband and soon after the marriage she was pregnant…"⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Read more about the book via linkinbio.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Edited by Lucy Peltz. Text by Louise Stewart, Simon Callow, Peter Funnell, Marina Warner, Kate Williams.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Photo: James Pinson Labulo Davies and Sarah Forbes Bonetta (Sarah Davies), 15 September 1862, Camille Silvy.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #lovestories #jamespinsonlabulodavies #sarahforbesbonetta #valentine #blackhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CLSdchLpoG-/?igshid=72tmwnng9wky

[brentfashioningourhistory]

Reposted from @hannahuzor . "When preparation meets opportunity." . Thanks to English Heritage my painting of Sarah Forbes has a new home at Osborne House in the Isle of Wight and will be on display throughout October! It forms part of a larger project to highlight other historical figures of African descent linked with English Heritage sites and the remaining portraits to be unveiled in March 2021. So proud that my Sarah portrait is the start of this important step to change the usual historical narrative! . Photo credit: Christopher Ison @crsison_photo In situ @EnglishHeritage Hair by @locs_by_harlee Cape @houseofadriel . Our Creative Director @wr.designs_ researched the life of Sara Forbes Bonetta extensively in his 2019 Dissertation "Pageboys to Protégés, Three Centuries of Style" which explored the clothing influential black figures wore in paintings and photography of colonial Britain as a means to reinstate their position within society. Warren says "It is wonderful that Sara is finally getting the recognition she deserves and now stands in her rightful place in History". . #sarahforbesbonetta #englishheritage #osbornehouse #blackhistorymonth #iow #blackhistory #art #portrait #artist #exhibition #collection #history #forgottenhistory #nigerianhistory #blackbritish #queenvictoria #britishhistory #blackandbritish #artresearch #historyresearch #londonart #london #contemporaryfigurative #contemporaryfinearts #drawing #hannahuzor #artinlondon #painting #zambianartist (at Osbourne House Isle of Wight) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGZb081n6X-/?igshid=otbbj626agsl

[christopherisonphotoblog]

I had the great pleasure of photographing artist Hannah Uzor, for regular client English Heritage recently. Hannah has painted a portrait of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a young African slave who went on to become god daughter to Queen Victoria in the mid nineteenth century. It is the first of several portraits being commissioned of lesser known historical figures who had a minority background and links to English Heritage sites. It’s been lovely to see this fascinating story picked up in the press, including a page three lead in the Guardian today. 🎉 . . . #HannahUzor #portrait #SarahForbesBonetta #EnglishHeritage #photographer #photography #reportage #photojournalism #photojournalist #documentary #photostory #editorialphotographer #editorialphotography #canonukandie #commercialphotographer #commercialreportage #PRphotographer #marketingphotographer #marketing #OsborneHouse #IsleofWight #QueenVictoria #PortraitPhotography #PortraitPhotographer #contextualportrait #artist #painter #BLM (at Osborne, Isle Of Wight, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGC2gpTlW9o/?igshid=bkhfld9zhgzw

[bellus-spiritus]

#SUPPORTtheARTS @mocada_museum BID NOW on the beautiful #ART that I curated with the generous support of 35 amazing #contemporaryartists until Nov 9 link in bio • paddle8.com/mocada • Proceeds benefitting the artists & The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, #MoCADA's programming & expansion to it's new 20'000sqf/2000sqm home Spring 2019. Dagmar van Weeghel @dvanweeghel For Sarah - The African Princess “Royalty” Pigment print ed.9 47.2 x 35.4in (120 x 90cm) Homage to #SarahForbesBonetta- The #AfricanPrincess, born (1843) born into royalty at Oke-Odan, an Egbado Village in #Ogun State, #Nigeria. She was orphaned during an intertribal war, sold into #slavery, and due to her remarkable intelligence, was later liberated from enslavement to be raised as a goddaughter to #QueenVictoria of Great Britain. The well known archival image of #SarahForbes presents a young black woman of high rank, dressed in the latest #Victorian fashions of her social standing, but offers none of the inner turmoil that must have been experienced by the woman who was stolen from her homeland and placed into Europe where she constantly would be viewed as the other. This portrait shows her dual identity as well as pays tribute to her courage, strenght and resilience. She is presented here in lush light that promotes ideas of regality, but she is wearing all black. This in Victorian times, would generally be assumed for a woman to be in mourning. Queen Victoria mourned her husband by wearing black for the remaining forty years of her life.  This portrait also deploys several tropes of the ‘white gaze’-  so called #African textiles and pieces, animal skins etc. But boldly offered in a way that quickly promotes the interiority of the portrayed. The model for her historical figure is Kajote Barbara. Her story has many similarities to Sarahs; she became an orphan in #Uganda at age 4 and with very little support went on to become the 1st runner-up at the 2011 Miss Uganda pageant. She later moved to Europe where she made a career for herself while also experiencing identity related issues.  #contemporaryart #blackgirlmagic #contemporaryphotography #artxlagos #artbaselmiami (at MoCADA Museum)

[blackoutthewhiteout]

WE Are GREAT! #powerful #blackexcellence #sarahforbesbonetta #truth #inspirationalquotes #blackvictorian #opulence #ancestors #makingitdowhatitdo https://www.instagram.com/p/BpcIs5RhY75/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1r5cyvao4a46f

[queentahtahme-blog]

✨When I was younger I had a book called “At Her Majesty’s Request” by Walter Dean Meyers. It was, by far, one of my favorite stories, and best of all she was real and there were pictures of her and everything! Lady Sarah Forbes Bonetta, born to the Royal Bloodline of West Africa with the name Aina(meaning “hard birth” aka someone born with the cord around their neck), through war and circumstance narrowly avoided death countless times, before being adopted by Queen Victoria and raised as a part of the extended royal family at school age. Clearly, being a princess was her birthright–literally nothing was able to stop her and her ancestors from in some way reclaiming the position. I too was a black girl adopted by white people when I was an older youth, and her story was the wildest of amazing…I thought about her constantly. Lady Aina led an intriguing life, traveling and living how few black women did at the time. I imagine she would have loved seeing the beauty of the Americas, had she had the opportunity. Here, I take her out of a dark and lush Victorian garden, and instead place her among a field of California poppies–the first place I would take her if she came to visit. 🌹🕯️🌹 thepathofagoddess.wordpress.com

[alisonsye]

Sarah Forbes Bonetta (by Camille Silvy), a princess who was given to Queen Victoria as a gift. More info in profile link. Mother 9 on my patchwork Taken from a NPG leaflet #FolksyWIP #sarahforbesbonetta #camillesilvy #artfromlondonbins #artfromconkedoutstuff #alisonsye814

[aloneinstitute]

Em 15 de agosto de 1880, falecia de tuberculose em Funchal, na Ilha da Madeira, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a princesa africana que foi escravizada e dada como “presente diplomático” ao capitão inglês Frederick Forbes, em 1850. Por volta dessa época, Sarah conheceu a soberana do Reino Unido. Ela tinha apenas 7 anos e Vitória a achou “afiada e inteligente”. Libertada do cativeiro, a rainha tomou a criança sob sua proteção, pagando por sua educação e demonstrando constante interesse sobre a sua vida de e a de sua família.

A história de Sarah Bonetta com a rainha Vitória começa quando o capitão da Marinha Inglesa, Frederick Forbes, chegou ao reino Daomé para forçar seu soberano a abolir o tr��fico transatlântico de escravizados.

De acordo com os registros dos ingleses, as negociações entre o rei Gezo Daomé e o capitão Forbes não obtiveram êxito. Contudo, é bastante intrigante o fato de que o monarca, supostamente, tenha “presenteado” Forbes com uma menina como sua escravizada e ele a aceitado. Segundo a história que Frederick contou à rainha Vitória, Sarah (cujo nome era Aina) havia nascido em uma importante família iorubá, quando sua tribo foi saqueada pelos soldados de Gezo.

Seus pais, infelizmente, foram mortos no conflito e a pequena ficou órfã aos 5 anos. A partir de então, ela teria sido obrigada a cumprir todas as vontades do rei de Daomé. Após recebê-la do soberano, Frederick Forbes rebatizou a menina com o nome de Sarah, tal como seu navio, e teria lhe dado o seu sobrenome, Forbes. Ao conhecer a pequena Sarah no castelo de Windsor, a rainha Vitória escreveu que ficou entristecida demais com a narrativa de sua vida e então a tomou sob seus cuidados, até o ano de 1862, quando a jovem se casou com James Davies, um rico comerciante de Serra Leoa, cujos pais haviam sido escravizados.

Em reconhecimento, a jovem deu o nome de Vitória à primeira filha que ela teve com James. Assim como fizera com a mãe, a rainha também tomou a pequena Vitória como sua afilhada e pagou pela sua educação. Infelizmente, Sarah Bonetta não teve uma vida longa, falecendo aos 37 anos.

#sarahforbesbonetta #queenvictoria #africa #england #rainhastragicas

[christabelle29]

#sarahforbesbonetta 💛 a beautiful Victorian. #blackbritain #hiddenhistory ..bbc2 & national portrait gallery. (at National Portrait Gallery)

[heathaakosuaphotos]

#VISIBLE:IN Opens Thursday 29th September from 6pm @seenfifteen as part of @artlicks weekend. Work from #toomanyblackamoors will feature plus fantastic installation from Lea Nagano. Looking forward to seeing you. #artlicksweekend #sarahforbesbonetta #blackgirlmagic #creatives #mentalhealth #visualartist #blm #ldnexhibition #blackbritishartist #femalephotographers #selfportraiture #portraits #woc

[jsportrait]

(via 450_Sarahtext.jpg (450×747))

[smilesbywrapstar]

This is Sarah Forbes Bonetta not Harriet Tubman. Stop spreading that lie. Do your research people. #harriettubman #sarahforbesbonetta

[bellus-spiritus]

#ArtSouthampton 2016 Dagmar van Weeghel @dvanweeghel 'Egg' C-print. Courtesy @PublicHouseofArt Van Weeghel lived in #Africa for 14 years, where her penchant for storytelling led to a concentration in photography. In Egg, the #artist pays homage to #SarahForbesBonetta, the orphaned #African #princess who was #enslaved and taken to #England to be given to #QueenVictoria in the 19th century. Dagmar created the #portrait like an old world painting, using daylight only and adding overlayers and brushing techniques to resemble the contrast of the photographic collodion process. The ostrich egg beautifully emphasizes the vulnerability of #life, while symbolizing the second birth, as a reference to Sarah's chance to start a new life in Europe. History lesson: PLEASE read the full story on blackpast.org !! Sarah Forbes Bonetta (1843 – 15 August 1880) a princess of the Egbado clan of the #Yoruba people, is best known as the #goddaughter of Queen Victoria of #GreatBritain. Bonetta was born in what is now southwest #Nigeria. Her parents' names are unknown as are the names of her siblings who were all killed in the 1847 slave raid that made Bonetta a captive - sold into slavery, and in a remarkable twist of events, was liberated from enslavement, and became a goddaughter to Queen Victoria. She married Captain James Pinson Labulo Davies, the wealthy Victorian Lagos philanthropist. She gave birth to a girl and named her after Queen Victoria. The Queen also became young Victoria’s godmother. Bonetta had two more children but died in 1880, age 37 from tuberculosis. Queen Victoria continued to provide for Sarah’s daughter, supporting her education and gave her an annuity. Young Victoria continued to visit the royal household for the rest of her life. Her closeness to Queen Victoria was cited in the Virginia Times as one reason why the UK would not intervene on the side of the slave-owning southern states in the US. The idea being that the UK would not prop up the south given that the Queen was so attached to Sarah – a pure African woman – who was not even of mixed race descent. There is also a 1hr BBC documentary by Zeinab Badawi from 2014 'The Lost Child'. #blackhistory #blm (at Art Southampton)

[womanofastar]

See! I'm not buggin I look like her! *lady sarah forbes bonetta* #BookofNegroes #Africa #SarahForbesBonetta #yoruba #lookalike #BlackAllOver

[heathaakosuaphotos]

#BlackChronicles exhibition which inspired my current project #toomanyblackamoors are having a curator tour with Renee Mussai from @autographabp from 6pm-9pm @nationalportraitgallery as part of @photolondonfair. The exhibition are composed of incredible portraits of the #blackpresence in Britain during the 19th century. Lots of events through to December so make sure to check it out. #blackbritish #autographabp #npg #sarahforbesbonetta #blackvictorians Left: Too Many Blackamoors (#1), 2015, Heather Agyepong (Courtesy of Heather Agyepong/ Autograph ABP). Right: A carte-de-visite portrait photograph of Sarah Forbes Bonetta (d. 1880), taken by Camille Silvy in 1862. Source: The Royal Photographic Society at the National Media Museum.