YCBA Collections Search

Created by John Opie (1761–1807), the artist, for Thomas Abraham (1768/9-1818) of Gurrington, Devon, and Calcutta, India [a]; by inheritance to his nephew Reverend Thomas Kitson (1799-1880) of Shiphay House, Torquay, Devon [b]; by inheritance to his nephew William Henry Kitson of Torquay, Devon (1833-1904); by descent to Major J. Robert Kitson (1868-1966) [1] of Shiphay and later Hazelwood House, Hennock, Devon; acquired by Colnaghi; purchased by Paul Mellon in 1961 [c], by whom gifted to the Yale Center for British Art, 1981 [d]

Citations:
[a] “Report of the Palk Manuscripts in the Possession of Mrs. Bannatyne, of Haldon, Devon,” HMC,1922, p.357
[b] John Jope Rogers, Opie and his works: being a catalogue of 760 pictures by John Opie,R.A., preceded by a biographical sketch by John Jope Rogers ..., London, P. and D. Colnaghi and co., 1878, p. 65.
[c] Malcolm Cormack, Concise Catalogue of Paintings in the Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 1985, pp. 174-175
[d] Ibid.

Note:
[1] Major J. Robert Kitson (1868-1966) was a distant descendant of Sir Robert Palk, president of the East India Company. Kitson was a longtime resident of Shiphay Manor, Torquay, Devon, eventually relocating to Hazelwood House, Hennock, Devon after its sale at auction in 1928; the house had once belonged to Sir L V Palk. He served in the British military during WWI, ultimately becoming a sergeant by 1919. Kitson’s predecessors lived at Shiphay Manor for multiple generations starting in 1740. From 1826, members of the family operated a law and banking firm in Torquay until Charles William Kitson’s retirement in 1900; Charles was J. Robert Kitson’s elder brother. The firm still exists today under the name of Kitson Boyce LLP.