(Above) Ayuba Suleiman Diallo also known as Job ben Solomon by William Hoara, (1733). © Christie's Images Limited
A campaign by the National Portrait Gallery will bid to raise £100,000 to stop the earliest known British oil painting of a freed African slave being exported.
Sold from a private collection, at auction in December, the Gallery originally needed to raise just under £600,000 to buy the painting by August 25 2010.
Thanks to a £100,000 Art Fund grant and the Heritage Lottery Fund's £333,000 donation, the Gallery is closer to its overall goal.
The portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo has until now never been seen in public and honours an African slave as an individual and an equal.
"This portrait is a rare example of a painting of an 18th century African in Britain," says Broadcaster and NPG Trustee Zeinab Badawi.
"It would be a vital and powerful addition to the Collection at the National Portrait Gallery for its representation of Britain's diverse cultural heritage."
An African from a prosperous Muslim family, Diallo was captured as a slave and transported to America to work on a plantation farm.
It was when he was imprisoned for trying to escape that Diallo met the lawyer Thomas Bluett who recognised his high intellect and education.
Bluett brought Diallo to England in 1733 and after his arrival he mixed with high society and had a lasting impact on Britain’s understanding of African culture, identity and religion.
After becoming a member of the Gentleman’s Society at Spalding, Diallo's supporters arranged for him to sit for this portrait by the artist William Hoare of Bath.
The portrait depicts Diallo in his traditional dress carrying his copy of the Qur'an around his neck.
"This engaging portrait of Diallo offers a more complex history of the eighteenth century – it is a vital acquisition," says Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery.
Donations to the National Portrait Gallery Ayuba Suleiman Diallo Appeal can be made online at www.npg.org.uk/diallo.
