in Calcutta). He left India in 1776 for London, traveling on the ship Talbot. On his return, he swiftly married Mary "Polly" Paine (1753–1798) on 23 February 1777. Mary was the younger daughter of the architect James Paine and half sister of the sculptor James Paine. She brought a dowry of £5,000, while Kettle put up £3,000 toward a trust fund, set up in a pre-nuptial settlement, dated 22 February 1777, the day before their wedding, so both parties were well established. The couple had two children, a daughter, Mary, and a son, James (November 1782 – 1819) who joined the Madras Army in 1810, became a captain, took an Indian bibi, had a daughter in 1814 and died in 1819. Contemporaries indicated that Kettle may have been manipulated into the marriage for financial reasons. At the same time, he switched his exhibitors to the Royal Academy of Art. He had fewer clients in England than he had before his departure, and contemporaries claimed his wife was financially imprudent. He fell into debt, and spent some time in Ireland to escape his financial problems. On 9 June 1786 Kettle made his will, giving his address as Brussels, rather than London, possibly to confuse his creditors. In 1786 he set out for a return to India. He attempted the voyage overland through Asia. His last portrait, The Turkish Janissary of the English Factory, Aleppo, was painted in Aleppo, and he died some time later, although where and when is unclear, possibly in the desert on his way to Basrah before the end of 1786. His will was registered at the British cancellaria in Aleppo on 5 July 1787. References Postle, Martin. "Tilly Kettle" In Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. vol. 31, 460–462. London: OUP, 2004. External links National Gallery of Modern Arts, New Delhi Tilly Kettle at artcyclopedia.com 1735 births 1786 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters Painters from London English portrait painters 18th-century English male artists