The Mission of Mercy - A Discussion with Lucy Bamford and guest Dr. Mike Hinton
In this second instalment of our In Focus series to mark the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, we present an audio discussion between Lucy Bamford (Senior Curator) and Dr. Mike Hinton (a retired biomedical scientist) who look at the wider context behind the production of the famous The Mission of Mercy: Florence Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari by Jerry Barrett, 1857. Dr. Mike Hinton’s book ‘Victory over Disease: Resolving the Medical Crisis in the Crimean War’ was published by Helion Books last year.
Derby Museums is marking the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth this year with a number of special exhibits celebrating her life and work, including this rare portrait on loan from the National Portrait Gallery, London as part of the COMING HOME project.
COMING HOME is a project which sees the National Portrait Gallery lend 50 portraits of iconic individuals to places across the UK with which they are most closely associated. These artworks will be available for audiences to see in local museums, galleries and other venues, along with special programming available for families and communities.
The Mission of Mercy (image below), painted by artist Jerry Barrett in 1857 – portrays Florence Nightingale attending wounded soldiers at Scutari, Turkey, during her time there as a nurse during the Crimean War.
An English social reformer and statistician, Florence Nightingale is credited as a founder of modern nursing, and came from a wealthy, reformist Derbyshire family who had a home at Lea Hurst near Matlock. This is the first time the painting will be returned to Derbyshire since having been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1993.
Listen to the discussion online, or download to listen on your device – you can also download the transcript by clicking here. Kindly transcribed by Derby Museums’ Co-production Volunteer Stephen Hill.
Image - The Mission of Mercy: Florence Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari by Jerry Barrett, 1857 © National Portrait Gallery, London