John Norris Hewett (c. 1745 – 22 December 1790; born John Norris Fisher; other married names Gordon and Storr) was a British female art collector and amateur artist.[1][2]

Her parents were Robert Fisher of Sandyford, Glasgow, a member of the Royal Company of Archers,[1] and his wife Lucy, who was daughter of Admiral John Norris and widow of Sir Gerald Aylmer, 5th Baronet.[2] Her elder half-brother was Sir FitzGerald Aylmer, 6th Baronet.[2] The date and location of her birth are unknown: her age at death in 1790 was given variously as 45 and 47 in contemporary sources;[1] in her childhood her father's residence was Newhall estate in Penicuik.[1] Also unknown is the origin of her unusual forename, though it has been suggested that it was chosen to placate her grandfather Norris, after her mother remarried against his wishes.[1]

John Norris Fisher married three times. In 1764 she married John Gordon Edit this on Wikidata of Ballintaggart, Aghaderg,[3][4] a Captain in the 50th Foot,[1] who divorced her in 1773 for adultery with Captain (later Admiral) John Storr of the Royal Navy,[2] whom she married later the same year, acquiring from him a house in Bedford Square and a life interest in a number of Yorkshire estates.[1] Soon after Storr's death she married John Hewett, né Thornhagh [wikidata], MP for Nottinghamshire and former High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.[1][5] Norris Hewett died at home in Richmond, London.[1] Thanks to an ambiguity in her will, her heirs took up litigation against each another, settling it in 1791.[1]

Two posthumous sales of her art collection were held by Christie's in 1792.[1] Among the works available were pieces by Hubert Robert, John Russell, and Johann Christoph Dietzsch [de], as well as a large number of pieces by her own hand.[1] These were largely copies, after such painters as Angelika Kauffmann, Joshua Reynolds, Guido Reni, William Peters, and Russell.[1] Their medium is unknown, though it is suspected many may have been pastels. None are known to survive, save potentially one, a copy of The Resurrection of a Pious Family by Peters, which was bequeathed to St. Andrew Warde Edit this on Wikidata and turned up at auction in 2015 with no attribution.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jeffares, Neil (16 June 2023). "Hewett, Mrs John, née John Norris Fisher" (PDF). Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800.
  2. ^ a b c d Jeffares, Neil (19 October 2016). "John Norris Hewett, a singular woman". Neil Jeffares [Blog]. wordpress.com. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Ballintaggart". logainm.ie. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  4. ^ Belmont, Timothy (20 December 2024). "Craigdarragh House". Lord Belmont in Northern Ireland. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  5. ^ Sedgwick, Romney R. (1970). "Thornhagh, John (c.1721-87), of Osberton and Shireoaks, Notts. and South Kelsey, Lincs.". The House of Commons 1715-1754. History of Parliament. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 7 March 2025 – via History of Parliament Online.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Norris_Hewett
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