Lot description
Tilly Kettle (1735-1786), circle of, portrait of a gentleman. Oil on canvas in gilt-carved frame. H 30 in. W 25 in. Provenance: The late James Rees, Former President and Chief Executive Officer of George Washington's Mount Vernon. Tilly Kettle, born the son of a London coach painter, began painting portraits by the 1750's. By the 1760's he had commissions and was exhibiting at the Society of Artists. But with greater aspirations, Kettle departed England for India in 1768, and forged a successful career painting notable figures of the British East India Company and Indian rulers. He returned to England in 1776. Ten years later, with creditors on his heals, he left for India once again, by a land route. In Aleppo, Turkey, he painted his last portrait, The Turkish Janissary of the English Factory, but died soon after, possibly in the desert, on his way to the port of Basrah. Condition: Relined. Inspected under UV light. NO restoration noted. Link to Hi-Res Images: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1m6lsie0x537jyxyyehn9/AMcEi0DDzc2IDCZHyCrZVNM?rlkey=qu86ps5b1n113l0t987l46oll&st=uhi1m14r&dl=0