The National Football Museum in Manchester have purchased my portrait of Jack Leslie
It will form part of a dedicated area in the museum in honour of this trailblazer!
In 1925, Jack Leslie was selected to play International football for England, unfortunately once the football authorities realised that he was ‘a man of colour’ his call up was rescinded. Jack had been cancelled!
In my portrait of Jack Leslie aptly named ‘Silenced’, I have deliberately erased a perfectly good drawing of his mouth and jawline using repeated swipes of sandpaper, to form a visual metaphor for this scandalous decision. Thankfully over the past decade his impact as a trailblazer has been recognised.
The family of Jack Leslie, have been presented with a posthumous honorary cap by the Football Association.
Jack would have been the first black footballer to play for England Viv Anderson played for England in 1978, and more contentiously Paul Reaney in 1968.
