John
Kay, barber and printmaker, began creating caricatures around the age
of 19. He exhibited his portraits in his Edinburgh barber shop until
1785, when he started working as an artist full-time. Thereafter, he
depicted ‘every figure of note in Edinburgh’, and it’s said that some of
his best customers were subjects who were offended by his images and
who bought his prints for the sole purpose of destroying them. The
courts and the scaffold were other sources of Kay’s subject matter. This
work depicts mariner Thomas Whyte (1793–1826), who was sentenced to 14
years’ transportation to New South Wales in 1814 for the crime of
culpable homicide.
Kay’s
prints were published in two volumes in 1837 and 1838, with further
editions appearing in 1842 and 1877. His caricatures now enrich the
holdings of many public collections, including the National Portrait
Galleries in London and Edinburgh.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015
The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the
Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a
Reproduction request. For further information please contact
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