# John Kay artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/john-kay/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T19:16:38.468Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: British, Scottish
- Common media: Engraving, Miniature painting

## Portrait

![John Kay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/John_Kay.jpg)
John Kay · Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Kay.jpg

## About John Kay

John Kay (1742–1826) was a British artist identified in Scottish biographical sources as a caricaturist and engraver. International authority records consistently distinguish him by these life dates, while VIAF also identifies him as a miniaturist. The available evidence therefore places his practice in the visual culture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, with caricature, engraving, and miniature painting forming the clearest documented contexts. No named movement or school is securely established by the collected sources, so his work is better described through its period, media, and caricatural function. Collectors may encounter works catalogued as engravings, caricatures, or miniatures, but the common name requires careful identity matching. The most useful identifiers are his 1742–1826 lifespan and linked Wikidata, VIAF, Getty ULAN, and Library of Congress authority records. These identifiers help separate this historical Scottish-associated artist from unrelated people and artists named John Kay.

## Common works and media

The documented work types associated with John Kay are caricatures, engravings, and miniature paintings. In an auction or appraisal setting, an object may therefore appear as an engraved image, a caricatural work, or a miniature. The present evidence does not establish a catalogue of named series, recurring sitters, edition practices, or specific signature conventions, so those details should be verified from the individual object and stronger specialist documentation.

## Market and appraisal context

An appraisal should begin by confirming that a work belongs to John Kay (1742–1826), using the artist's authority identifiers and documented roles as a caricaturist, engraver, and miniaturist. Works described only with the name “John Kay” should not automatically be grouped with this artist's auction record. Once identity is secure, comparison should focus on like object types, such as engravings versus painted miniatures, and on public records with sufficiently detailed cataloguing. The collected source pack does not supply individual lot descriptions, condition reports, provenance, dimensions, editions, or realized prices, so it cannot support a price prediction. Those object-level facts and comparable sale records would be needed for a defensible valuation.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist-identity research with auction records and auction-house context. When available, sale dates, realized prices, detailed cataloguing, and comparable lots are used to evaluate works tied to the same artist identity and object type.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1556464
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/54247002/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500004452
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr93031894
- Art UK: https://artuk.org/discover/artists/kay-john-17421826
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kay_(caricaturist)
- Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kay_(Karikaturist)
- Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kay_(graveur)
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/john-kay/