Overview
- The Liverpool institution placed two depictions of Nelson’s final moments—by Benjamin West (1806) and Daniel Maclise (1859–64)—in its LGBTQ+ collection.
- Gallery text cites the disputed “kiss me, Hardy” account and says the scene symbolizes often-hidden queer histories at sea, stating that any sexual relationship remains unknown.
- National Museums Liverpool, which receives public funding, also features the works in an online article about the history of LGBTQ+ love.
- The LGB Alliance and several historians, including Andrew Lambert and Robert Tombs, criticized the framing and said there is no evidence Nelson was gay.
- Reports highlight conflicting contemporaneous accounts of Nelson’s last words and note his marriage to Frances Nisbet and his affair with Emma Hamilton.