Portrait of Dr Jane Goodall

Portrait of Dr Jane Goodall, 'Jane Goodall’s Light of Life Is Forever', by Mr Brainwash, 2026.

In 1960 Jane Goodall travelled to Gombe National Park in Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees.

Goodall began her scientific observations as a young woman without a university degree and went on to become a celebrated world expert in animal behaviour (ethologist). She raised a question that scientists are still exploring: if chimpanzees can make tools, learn from one another and form rich social relationships, what makes humans unique?

Goodall was also a conservationist and environmental campaigner, founding the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 to promote conservation around the world. In 1991 she founded Roots & Shoots with a group of Tanzanian students to empower young people to take action for animals, people and the environment.

She was made a Fellow of the Science Museum in 2025 in recognition of her contribution to science and her lifelong activism to protect biodiversity.

This portrait celebrates Dr Jane Goodall and the pioneering research that established her as one of the world’s best-known scientists.

Painted by Mr Brainwash, a street artist known for his colourful style and positive messages, it shows Goodall in the Gombe rainforest, facing a chimpanzee in a quiet moment of connection. Words and phrases, including some of Goodall’s own, spill across the image and onto its ornate frame. They reflect the wider impact of her work in championing conservation and encouraging people to care for the natural world.