Painting by celebrated artist Richmond Barthé put on display at Belton House as part of Black History Month

A painting by a celebrated African-American artist has been put on display at Belton House in celebration of Black History Month.

The painting by Richmond Barthé (1901-89) can be seen at the National Trust property for the first time after research was able to confirm the identity of both the artist and the sitter.

Seated Man in a Landscape is a 1950s portrait painted in Jamaica, where Barthé lived from 1949 to 1969. He was the only professional African-American artist living there at the time.

The sitter has been identified as Lucian Levers, who was employed as Barthé’s helper at Iolaus, the artist’s house and studio in St Ann Parish, Jamaica. Levers became a favourite model, appearing in several paintings and sculptures produced there.

Alice Rylance-Watson, assistant national curator at the National Trust, established the artist after noticing that the painting had been mistakenly attributed after its signature had been incorrectly transcribed.

She identified the sitter in part thanks to research conducted by the late Margaret Rose Vendryes (1955-2022), an art historian who wrote the first major work on Barthé.

With Vendryes’ work, Alice was able to compare Seated Man in a Landscape with a photograph of Levers, a sculpted bust and another portrait, to confirm the sitter’s identity. The painting has since been worked on by specialist paintings conservators to prepare it for public display.

Alice said of the discovery: “It has been fantastic to be able to update the historical record to formally acknowledge both the creator of this portrait and its sitter for the first time.

“Barthé’s legacy extends beyond his own life, and his work has had a significant impact on black artists today, which is why the National Trust has chosen to display the painting as part of our Black History Month celebrations.

"We are delighted to be able to identify Lucian Levers as the sitter as it can be difficult to name black individuals who appear in historic portraits, chiefly because of a lack of documentation.

"Barthé is best known as a sculptor, so it is great to showcase this rare oil, painted at an important transitional point in the artist’s career."

Seated Man in a Landscape is part of the Belton House collection, in the care of the National Trust. Exactly how the painting came to be at Belton is unknown, but it is likely to have been acquired by Perry Cust, 6th Baron Brownlow, who built a holiday home in northern Jamaica.

For opening times and more information visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/belton-house

The National Trust has invited modern artists from the black community to share how they have been inspired by Barthé’s work. The EH Jazz Trio, Eugene Ankomah and Quilla Constance have all reflected on his work and its influence on their own artistic practice in a video, produced by Media Worx and narrated by BBC Radio 2’s Trevor Nelson. The video will be screened at Belton House and shared on the National Trust’s website from October 13.

Artist Eugene Ankomah, who has been inspired by Barthé’s work and who has taken part in the video, said: “For me, it is super important that projects like this highlight the stories of people from underrepresented groups. Simply because it is a way of respecting and acknowledging the valid experiences of the underrepresented.

"It also brings into the mix of society, a sense of something else beyond what may be paraded in front of us in the everyday. It helps to widen the story of now and the story of any community or nation. I was very interested from the onset with the video concept as a way to doing this.

"I found it to be a fresh and an honest approach to the topic of Bathé and his work. The concept had a psychological energy to it which I couldn't wait to help make real.”

Richmond Barthé was born in Bay St Louis, Mississippi in 1901. His artistic talent was recognised by members of the local community, who raised enough money to fund his tuition at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of only two art institutions accepting black students at the time.

Barthé studied painting before undergoing formal training in sculpture. He earned critical acclaim as a sculptor in New York and on the international stage, winning several high-profile commissions. However, despite his success, Barthé experienced feelings of alienation during his lifetime, and periods of mental and physical ill health.

He left New York for Jamaica in 1949, in a bid to revive his health and creativity. Barthé struggled to make commercial success of his painting. He would often give away or destroy his oils. Seated Man in a Landscape is thus a rare survival of a lesser-known and somewhat difficult aspect of Barthé’s work.

Barthé was a figurative artist who generally, but not exclusively, depicted the black male body, focussing on both the sensual and spiritual dimensions of the human experience. His personal and professional life was complex, and notions of identity profoundly influenced his work.

After a period of time in Europe, Barthé settled in Pasadena, California, where he died in 1989.