Portrait of the Rev. Thomas Curteis 1748, by George Knapton.

A good quality oil on canvas in the original fine carved and giltwood frame. Almost certainly painted on the occasion of Thomas's marriage to Elizabeth Papillon.

Thomas Curteis was ordained priest in 1739. He was domestic chaplain for Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart in 1750, and, later, for Charles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset, until 1755. After serving as Prebendary ay Canterbury Cathedral. he settled back into parish life near Sevenoaks. His first wife (nee Austen) bore two children but died before 1743.

On the 18 Apr 1748 (aged 30) he married Elizabeth Papillon (aged 23) in the Diocese of Rochester, Kent, England. She was born in 1724 and baptised on the 11th October, 1724 at St. Martin's Church, Acrise, Kent, England. She was the daughter of David Papillon (Fellow of the Royal Society and Member of Parliament) and Mary Keyser. They had five daughters and a son, Thomas, who followed his father into the clergy.

A memorial on the floor of Sevenoaks Church, in black marble: "Beneath this marble are deposited the remains of the Rev'd Thomas Curteis, D.D. Who departed this life April the 27th, 1775, aged 69.”

“Likewise of Elizabeth his wife, who departed this life Sept. 1st 1786, Aged 62. Also the remains of Ann their Daughter, who died March 24th 1763, Aged 5 years and 8 months."

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is some old restoration to this painting which shows in a certain light (images 3 and 4).

If the portrait is bought WITHOUT the frame the price is £998.

GEORGE KNAPTON (1668-1778) was an English portrait painter and the first portraitist for the Society of Dilettanti in the 1740s. He became Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures from 1765 to 1778.

Knapton's largest painting was that of The Family of Frederick, Prince of Wales (1751, Royal Collection). He also painted portraits of the Earl of Upper Ossory (with his brother and sister), the Earl of Burlington, Admiral Sir John Norris, Francis, Fifth Duke of Leeds, Admiral George Vandeput, Archibald Bower, Nicolas Tindal, Hildebrand Jacob, Admiral Edward Hawke, and the singers Carestini and Lisabetta du Parc.

SIZE: 38 x 32 inches including the frame.

PROVENANCE: From a Private Collection in France. The owner had bought the portrait at auction (Stephen Weisz) in Johannesburg; it had been consigned by a member of the Curteis family who lived in the area.