My wife's ancestors - Hunter - Contents

Portrait of Kitty Hunter by Joshua Reynolds (the Longleat picture)

A portrait of Kitty Hunter (born 1740, died 1795) by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Now at Longleat House, seat of the Marquess of Bath.

• Date is probably 1758:
  • Kitty sat for Reynolds in 1757-1758. This must be this picture.
  • The other Reynolds picture is after 1762.

• Inherited by Hunter and Wombwell:
  • [Graves and Cronin, vol.2] shows this portrait was in the possession of "T. Orby Hunter" as at 1833. This would be Thomas Orby Hunter, nephew of Kitty.
  • [Waagen, 1854] shows this picture as then in the collection of "Mr. Wombwell". This would be Sir George Wombwell, 3rd Baronet, son-in-law of Thomas Orby Hunter.
  • The picture was then apparently sold out of the family.

• In possession of Botfield:
  • As at 1861, the picture is found in the possession of the collector Beriah Botfield of Norton Hall, Northamptonshire. See wikitree. Neither he nor his wife seem to be related to Hunter or Wombwell. So presumably he just bought it.
  • It is not listed in: Catalogue of pictures in the possession of Beriah Botfield, Esq. at Norton Hall, London, 1848.
  • [Leslie and Taylor, 1865] say it was in the possession of Beriah Botfield as at 1861.
  • To do: It is apparently listed in a later catalogue of Beriah Botfield pictures, dated 1863, p.33. This may be a manuscript rather than a published work.
  • Beriah Botfield died in 1863 and left his collection to the Marquess of Bath.

• Now at Longleat:
  • I had a note that the painting was apparently purchased at auction by Longleat at Christie's, Apr 1995, ref "256".
  • But I cannot find this auction. And also note that Beriah Botfield left his collection to the Marquess of Bath in 1863. That must in fact be how the portrait ended up at Longleat.
  • Note that the Marquess of Bath is descended from the 10th Earl of Pembroke, though through his wife, not through Kitty Hunter.

Kitty Hunter.
Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Longleat House.
The original colours have faded.

Close-up of portrait.

The picture hanging in Longleat.
See full size. From Jane Lark.

The painting in the collection of "Mr. Wombwell" in 1854.
Extract from p.311 of vol.2 (1854) of Treasures of Art in Great Britain, by Gustav Friedrich Waagen.