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William Kent

(1685?-1748), Architect, painter and landscape gardener

Early Georgian Portraits Catalogue Entry

Sitter associated with 8 portraits
Artist associated with 5 portraits
Kent came from humble origins, but gained knowledge of the classics when his early patrons took him on a Grand Tour of Italy, spending ten years studying, before being brought home in 1719 by Lord Burlington to decorate the ceilings at Burlington House (now the Royal Academy). One of the leading architects working in the Palladian style, he published Designs of Inigo Jones, 1727, and worked at Houghton, Holkham and Stowe, as well as in London on the Horse Guards and the Treasury Buildings. Kent's garden designs for mansions at Stowe, Rousham and Chiswick combine naturalism with classical allusions. He also illustrated John Gay's Poems, 1720, and James Thomson's Seasons, 1730.

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William Kent, by William Aikman - NPG 6063

William Kent

by William Aikman
oil on canvas, circa 1723-1725
On display in Room 10 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 6063

'A Conversation of Virtuosis...at the Kings Arms', by Gawen Hamilton - NPG 1384

'A Conversation of Virtuosis...at the Kings Arms'

by Gawen Hamilton
oil on canvas, 1735
On display in Room 10 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 1384

Probably William Kent, by Bartholomew Dandridge - NPG 1557

Probably William Kent

by Bartholomew Dandridge
oil on canvas, circa 1736
NPG 1557

William Kent, by Alexander Bannerman, after William Aikman - NPG D3481

William Kent

by Alexander Bannerman, after William Aikman
line engraving, published 1762
NPG D3481

William Kent, by Alexander Bannerman, after William Aikman - NPG D3482

William Kent

by Alexander Bannerman, after William Aikman
line engraving, published 1762
NPG D3482

William Kent, by Alexander Bannerman, after William Aikman - NPG D3483

William Kent

by Alexander Bannerman, after William Aikman
line engraving, published 1762
NPG D3483

William Kent, by Alexander Bannerman, after William Aikman - NPG D3484

William Kent

by Alexander Bannerman, after William Aikman
line engraving, published 1762
NPG D3484

William Kent, by William Aikman, after Alexander Bannerman - NPG D3485

William Kent

by William Aikman, after Alexander Bannerman
line engraving, published 1762
NPG D3485

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