Learie Constantine
Entry ID
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105 (03/02/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Learie Constantine
Description of the sculpture
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Bronze portrait bust of Learie Constantine, Trinidadian cricketer, lawyer and politician. The grandson of slaves, he held the positions of High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago, governor of the BBC, Rector of St Andrew's University and was a member of the Race Relations Board. In 1969, Constantine became the first Black peer.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Bust – Portrait
Base
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No base
Dimensions
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Height: 43.8 cm
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Width: ? cm
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Depth: ? cm
Materials
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Bronze
Specific techniques used
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Casting
Overall colour
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Monochrome – brown
Inscriptions
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Signed
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Identifiable: specific individual
Identity of Black person (real or fictive)
Role within sculpture
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Main protagonist
Gender
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Male
Age
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Adult
Status
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Free citizen
Clothing
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Wearing clothes – European/Western clothing
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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None
Action or activity
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Not relevant (head)
Emotional state
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Noble/proud
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking outwards (engaging viewer)
Sculptural context
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No location included/implied
Sculptor
Place of production
Period of production
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Twentieth century (1900-1999)
Date of Production
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1971
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Original purpose
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Commemorative
Original display setting
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Unknown
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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6015
Provenance history
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1988: purchased by the National Portrait Gallery
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/887, . (no date) ‘Learie Constantine’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/888
