Tilly Kettle Paintings

Portrait of a lady wearing a white gown with a red cloak, pearls in her hair and draped over one shoullder, standing beside a classical urn with a basket of flowers, c.1765. The portrait is believed to be a companion portrait of a John (1741-1816) or James (1751-1807) Durno which is housed in an identical frame. The sitter is possibly either the wife of John who was Janes Byres of Stonywood or John and James's sister Elizabeth. (James never married). The Durno family were based around the Aberdeen area of Scotland and John was an advocate in the area and then later a customs official in Jamaica. James was a successful timber merchant, spending time in the Baltic before being made His Majesty's Consul in Memel, Prussia. The portrait is likely to have been painted before Tilly travelled to India in 1768, when John, Jane and Elizabeth would have been in their twenties. We are gtrateful to Mark Beattie for sharing his family knowlege and research on the portrait. Provenance: With W. C. Beattie in the mid 19th century, and by descent through the family Private collection, Kent With thanks to Hugh Belsey who has confirmed this to be the work of Tilly Kettle from photographs. Tilly Kettle (1735-1786) was born in London, the third of six children by Henry Kettle (c.1704-c.1773), a coach painter, and his wife Ann. He attended William Shipley...