John Ketton (1808-1872)
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1860
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
825 x 600 mm
Order this imageCollection
Felbrigg, Norfolk
NT 1401331
Caption
The sitter was a Norwich merchant who had made a fortune out of oil-cake and cattle-feed in the 1830s and 1840s. He had altered his name from Kitton in 1853. He acquired Felbrigg lock, stock and barrel when ‘Mad’ Windham’s bankers foreclosed on him in 1862. This prompted one wit to observe that ‘Windham is gone to the dogs. Felbrigg has gone to the Kittens.’ The Kettons made surprisingly little impact on the estate. They lived happily in the old house with all its contents for many years, and today there is almost no sign of them.
Summary
An oil painting on canvas of John Ketton (1808-1872), by the British (English) School. A half-length portrait of a man turned to his right with his right arm resting on a plinth. He wears a coat and a white high collared shirt. John Ketton was a Norwich merchant who had made a fortune out of cattle-feed in the 1830's and 1840's, and who acquired Felbrigg after 'Mad' Windham's bankers foreclosed on him in 1862.
Provenance
Part of the Windham Collection. The hall and contents were bequeathed to the National Trust in 1969 by Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer (1906-1969)
Makers and roles
British (English) School, artist