African artists' model 1862

This splendid portrait of a man of African ancestry  now in the collection of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art in Conwy  has recently been identified as a painting from around or just before 1862 by an artist named George Harrison ( 1840-1910)    that was mentioned in a newspaper report as 'Portrait of an African'.     
 It was painted when Harrison was a student so the  sitter is most likely a model, probably at the RA Schools in London, and the canvas was used by the artist as an example of his skill when pitching for portrait commissions - though he later moved to Wales and painted landscapes. 
All this from a long discussion  on the Art Fund Art detective site, and a big credit to E.Jones who found the press report.
There are probably other pictures from this period featuring the same sitter, most likely in genre scenes, though maybe in similar head-and-shoulder studies.