Croeso i Amgueddfa Cymru!
This is 'Jamaican Woman'. You may not have met her before but you can now see her in our newly rehung Gallery 16 at National Museum Cardiff. She was painted by Augustus John. We know a lot about him, but we don't even know her name, only that she was a hotel worker. We have been working with community groups to agree how she should be displayed. Their ask was that she should have the same quality frame that was normally reserved for John's affluent, white subjects. So we took a gilt frame from another portrait, one he had chosen himself, so we knew it would be an appropriate match for his work. Then our Art Technicians created a 'slip', the discreet inner wooden frame you can see immediately around the portrait so that it would fit. Now she hangs proudly with equal status alongside the other impressive portraits in our collection. Do go and say 'hello' to her next time you're in Cardiff - and when you do, consider how many people have been involved in bringing her to that gallery wall. Just as they say it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole team to hang a painting. #AmgueddfaCymru
