Albert Charles Challen

Albert Charles Challen (8 October 1847 in Islington – 1 September 1881 in Camberwell) was a British artist. He is best known as the painter of a portrait of Mary Seacole in 1869, when she was around 65 years old and he was 22.[1] The rediscovery of the portrait was announced in January 2005, and it is held by the National Portrait Gallery.[2]

Albert Charles Challen
Born(1847-10-08)October 8, 1847
Islington, London
DiedSeptember 1, 1881(1881-09-01) (aged 33)
Camberwell, Surrey
NationalityBritish
Known forPainting
Notable work1869 portrait of Mary Seacole

The portrait of Mary Seacole in oils, c. 1869, by Albert Charles Challen. The original is on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Born in Islington, the 1871 UK census shows Challen living in Hammersmith, with his profession given as "art student (painting)". By the 1881 census, he was living in Camberwell, and was a "practising artist".[2] Based on this evidence, historian Helen Rappaport theorised that the Seacole portrait (which she had discovered) may been an practice project for Challen, or done before he had attended art school; suggesting that the artist and subject may have personally known one another.[3]

Challen died of tuberculosis[3] at the age of 33 on 1 September 1881 in Camberwell, Surrey.[2]

His niece, Florence Mildred Saltmarsh Challen, was married to the organist and composer Henry Thomas Pringuer.

References
  1. Higgins, Charlotte (11 January 2005). "Historic portrait of Crimean war nurse unveiled". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  2. Sutherland, Hazel (10 January 2005). "LOST PORTRAIT OF MARY SEACOLE DISCOVERED". National Portrait Gallery Press. National Portrait Gallery, London. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008.
  3. Rappaport, Helen (20 August 2018). "The lost portrait of Mary Seacole and its forgotten artist". helenrappaport.com. Retrieved 2 July 2020.


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