About the portrait

This resource focuses on a portrait of Joseph Pease in the Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough.

Joseph Pease belonged to a family of Quakers who were instrumental in building the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The railway was one of the first public railway systems in the world and was also used to transport coal, iron and other materials and products. It was crucial to the expansion of Middlesbrough, and to the wider development of the Tees Valley as an industrial powerhouse.

As well as being a successful and important industrialist Joseph Pease advocated for the abolition of slavery and was supportive of animal rights. He was an MP, representing the constituency of South Durham, and was the first Quaker to be permitted to take his seat in Parliament.

This portrait by Charles Napier Kennedy, painted in 1881, shows Pease in his later years. He is surrounded by objects that reflect his achievements and tell us about the history of Middlesbrough.

What clues can we spot in the portrait?

The artist has added objects and background details to the portrait which provide additional clues about Pease's life. They also tell us about the history of Middlesbrough.

The details of the painting below, include a close-up of Pease's face and some of the things the artist has added to the painting. Ask students to describe what they can see in the details and what they think these things might tell us.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway

This is another portrait of Joseph Pease. It stands Darlington town centre and is also a talking portrait, telling us about Pease's life.

Monument to Joseph Pease (1799–1872)

Monument to Joseph Pease (1799–1872) 1872–1875

George Anderson Lawson (1832–1904) and Cox & Son (active 1838–1881)

Joseph Pease Place, High Row, Darlington, County Durham

Relief panels on the pedestal of the sculpture show scenes relating to Pease's public life and achievements. (You can explore more images of the sculpture and panels on the artwork page.)

Look at the panel below as a class. What clues do you think it provides about Joseph Pease's life?

  • What can you see in the foreground (at the the front of the panel)?
  • What can you see in the background?
  • What do you think this picture might tell us about Joseph Pease and his work?

Relief panel from 'Monument to Joseph Pease (1799–1872)', Joseph Pease Place, High Row, Darlington,

Relief panel from 'Monument to Joseph Pease (1799–1872)', Joseph Pease Place, High Row, Darlington,

Art & Design activity: make a talking portrait

Use your art and your voice to celebrate your place!

Make a portrait that tells us about someone important to your place or community.

Activity instructions

In his painting of Joseph Pease, Charles Napier Kennedy included objects that provide clues about Pease and his life. When we look at the portrait now, 150 years later, we can use these objects to discover more about the history of Middlesbrough.

Look at more 'talking portraits' on Art UK with your students using the carousel below and be inspired to create your own talking portrait!

Top tip! You can find out more about these portraits in our Superpower of Looking resources.

Plan and make your portrait

1. Decide who your portrait will represent

Who has made a difference to your place?

Students could choose someone you have been studying in history or a contemporary figure from your local area. (You could also use this activity to task students with making a portrait of someone they know such as a family member, friend or carer.)

Top tip! Before the lesson, gather images of possible portrait subjects who are important to your place or community, to inspire and support students in planning and creating their portrait.

2. What objects or images will you add to the portrait?

Encourage students to think about the life of the person and what objects they could use to tell others about them. Discuss ideas as a class or in groups.

  • They could think about where they lived, what they looked like, what clothes they might have worn.
  • They could also think of objects or images that might help to tell their story.

3. Create your portrait

Students could create individual portraits or you may decide to make a collaborative portrait, with groups of students or the whole class working together on a large-scale portrait. Each student could contribute an element to the portrait.

  • Draw an outline of the person who your portrait will represent. Use crayons, paint or collage to add background, clothing and objects, so that the portrait talks and tells us about the person.
  • Dress the figure by adding clothing and accessories that they might wear/have worn or that tell us something about them. (For example, a sports person might wear a tracksuit.)
  • Add a background setting. (This could be a building or a landscape or another scene that relates to their life.)
  • Add objects around the figure to tell us about their life and achievements.

Sculpture variation: who will you put on a pedestal?

pedestal8-1.jpg

Be inspired by the public sculpture of Joseph Pease in Darlington, with its relief panels telling his story, and make a mini portrait on a pedestal of someone you think should be celebrated.

Use this Art UK activity for more inspiration and instructions.

Art UK activity: Who will you put on a pedestal?

Extension activity: mapping history

In his portrait of Joseph Pease, Charles Napier Kennedy included a map showing Middlesbrough after the building of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

The Teesside Archives has maps which show Middlesbrough in the early 1800s as a rural area of fields and farms. It also has later maps dating from after the railway was built, which shows Middlesbrough as a bustling town with streets and factories and a large port.

  • Source and compare maps of your village, town or city from different decades or centuries. Your local archive my have maps of your area or you could search the map finder on the National Libraries of Scotland website which has map images of locations throughout the UK. You could also compare older map to a Google Street map of your area.
  • How has your place changed? What might have caused this change?

Task students with having a go at map making.

  • They could map the area local to your school, adding in streets, buildings and other features.
  • Or they could map your school grounds adding buildings, the playground, drive, bike sheds and other features.

Top tip!

Watch this BBC video for an introduction to maps


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