kit-cat
English
Sir John Vanbrugh in Godfrey Kneller's kit-cat portrait
Etymology
So called because the size was adopted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for the portraits he painted of the members of London's 18th-century Kit-Cat Club, named after innkeeper Christopher Catt.
Noun
- (historical, art) A short portrait, measuring 28 or 29 by 36 inches, less than half-length, but including the hands.
Further reading
- “kit-cat”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
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