Research uncovers the real life behind enigmatic ‘Jersey’, Joshua Reynolds’ earliest depiction of a person of colour

Now, a research collaboration between the National Trust, National Gallery London and Royal Museums Greenwich, has shone compelling new light on the sitters and their local, national and global connections.

The painting, completed around 1748, depicts Ourry as a young Royal Navy lieutenant, looking out with a confidence that hints at his aspirations of future advancement and success. Close by his side, a small boy in smart navy-blue coat, scarlet waistcoat, white turban and pearl earring, tentatively gazes up at the lieutenant.

Mark Brayshay, Saltram Volunteer Researcher and Emeritus Professor, University of Plymouth, said Georgian-era portraits of wealthy white sitters sometimes included a person of different ethnicity and skin colour – in some instances imagined – to emphasise the high standing of the principal sitter.

Mark said: “A key motivation for our research was to explore whether more could be discovered about Jersey than merely his supposed name. Could we acknowledge and honour him as a distinct individual, and affirm his life as a person with hopes, potential and aspirations?”

Scouring Admiralty and other records including original letters, muster books and captains’ logs, Prof. Brayshay and Dr Katherine Gazzard, Curator at Royal Museums Greenwich, found, for the first time, evidence of the boy’s identity and the circumstances of his life before and after the portrait was made.

Mark continued: “We've been able to confirm that he was indeed known as Jersey, but as a surname, rather than a first name. In Admiralty records from the Royal Navy ships on which he served as Ourry’s ‘servant’ from 1747 to 1753 (HMS Salisbury, Monmouth and Deptford), he is recorded in musters as Boston Jersey.”

Jersey may have been a nickname given to the boy because Ourry’s birthplace was St Helier – Ourry's family were Huguenot refugees who fled from persecution in France to Jersey. The reason for the first name, Boston, is not certain, but it is possible that the boy lived in Boston, Massachusetts, before coming to England.

The research revealed that Jersey was baptised as George Walker (possibly a name he had been known by earlier in his life) on 30 July 1752, probably in a chapel in Westminster. The baptismal certificate describes ‘A Certain Black Boy Called Boston Jersey Baptised by the name of George Walker aged fifteen’, which would place him at around eleven years old in the Reynolds portrait.

Another significant discovery was that when Jersey boarded HMS Monmouth in December 1748, he had been promoted to the rank of able seaman.

Mark said: “A muster taken in 1751 records that Boston Jersey had been repositioned in the crew list from second place, as the servant of Ourry, to a place among the rest of the crew. Later, his name appears as one of 10 crew members due for discharge ‘per paybook’. This could imply that Jersey was in receipt of Royal Navy pay, but it is also possible that the sums owing actually went to Ourry.”

Jersey was discharged from HMS Deptford in August 1753 – probably in Port Mahon, Minorca – but no further trace of Boston Jersey or George Walker has been found on ships on which Ourry served. The question remains, was he recruited as an able seaman for another ship, or purchased as a slave by an unknown person?

David Olusoga, historian, broadcaster and National Trust Ambassador, said the research had helped bring Boston Jersey out of the shadows:

“This project asks us to look more closely at a familiar past, revealing a life long obscured and reminding us that history is shaped as much by those rendered invisible as by those remembered. To tell Jersey’s story is to confront the silences within our history, and to recognise the individuals whose lives have too often been hidden from view.”

Alongside archival research, new technical examination of the portrait – including infrared reflectography, X-radiography, X-ray fluorescence scanning, surface microscopy and paint samples analysis – revealed details of Reynolds’ techniques and early composition ideas. A technical investigation by the National Trust in partnership with the National Gallery London showed that while there is a preliminary paint application marking out the area for Ourry’s head, no such ‘laying-in’ paint exists under Jersey’s head. This suggests he was not painted during sittings, perhaps due to him being regarded as a subsidiary figure.

While the boy’s head is beautifully rendered, it seems unlikely this is an accurate portrait of Jersey. The analysis also found that Reynolds had initially planned an elaborate natural setting, sketching in leafy branches, but these were abandoned for the plain brown background seen today.

These technical analyses were used to inform conservation treatment by the National Trust’s Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio, at Knole in Kent. Painting Conservator Sarah Maisey was able to bring clarity back to both Ourry and Jersey, by removing old layers of varnish and non-original paint, followed by reversible inpainting.

Zoe Shearman, Saltram Property Curator, said: “Sarah’s work has brought both sitters more completely into view so we can appreciate details that weren't visible before. In particular, Jersey’s sensitively painted facial features are revealed more sharply, as are the beautiful details on his clothing, down to the filigree pattern on his headdress. Mark Brayshay describes it as a dazzlingly good and unforgettable portrait, and I think visitors will agree.

“Through this project, we’ve been able to see Jersey more clearly – through what we now know of his life and naval career, but also through how he was portrayed on the canvas. In time we may discover more, but Boston Jersey is at last given recognition as a person and shown as more than just a trope.”

The painting, newly conserved, re-lit and hung more prominently in Saltram’s Saloon, will be on show from 9 May. An Explore More room will open from 23 May, including opportunities to find out about the research project and to watch ‘Jersey’s Story’, a short film. The new display and film are made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Thanks to a loan by the National Maritime Museum, London, the painting will be shown alongside its companion portrait, Captain the Honourable George Edgcumbe, until 1 November, bringing the two artworks together for the first time in two centuries. Both portraits were commissioned by the Corporation of Plympton and were probably painted at Reynolds’ studio in Plymouth Dock (now Devonport). The portrait shows Captain Edgcumbe with HMS Salisbury – on which Ourry and Jersey served – at anchor in the distance. Together, the portraits tell of the global aspirations of Plympton and the early presence of people of colour in Plymouth.

Dr Katherine Gazzard, Curator at Royal Museums Greenwich, said:

“Royal Museums Greenwich are thrilled to be partnering with the National Trust to reunite these two portraits, which first hung together more than 200 years ago. By seeing the paintings side-by-side, visitors to Saltram will gain a unique insight into a complex and poignant story with local, national and global dimensions.”