Sir John Gawdy, 2nd Baronet (4 October 1639 –1699) was a

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

baronet and

portrait miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century el ...

. John Gawdy was son to Sir William Gawdy (24 September 1612 – 18 August 1669), created 1st Baronet in 1663, of West Harling, Norfolk, and his wife Elizabeth,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Duffield (died 1653), daughter to John Duffield of

East Wretham Wretham is a civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. The parish includes the village of East Wretham, which is about northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. It also includes the villages of Illington and Stonebri ...

. Gawdy succeeded to the baronetcy in 1669 upon the death of his father. His elder brother Bassingbourne had died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

in 1660. Gawdy's other siblings were his younger brothers William and Framlingham, and his sister Anne. He married Anne de Grey, the youngest daughter to Sir Robert de Grey (died 1644) of Merton in Norfolk, and his wife Elizabeth, née Bridon (died 1692). Gawdy and Anne produced a son, Bassingbourne, Gawdy's heir, and a daughter, Anne, who married

Oliver Le Neve Oliver Le Neve (1662 – November 1711) was a Norfolk country squire and landowning sportsman who lived most of his life at Witchingham Hall in Great Witchingham, Norfolk, England, and is significant for his 1698 mortal duel with Sir Henry Hoba ...

of Witchingham Hall. There were two other children who died in infancy. Sir Bassingbourne Gawdy became the 3rd Baronet on the death of his father in 1699, but as he died without heir on 10 October 1723, the Gawdy Baronetcy became extinct. Burke, John
''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies''
1838 (re-issued 1841 and 1844), pp.215, 216 The Gawdy estate at West Harling was passed to John Gawdy's nieces, Isabella, Anne and Henrietta, daughters to his sister Anne and Oliver Le Neve. The nieces later sold the estate. Nicolson, Adam (2012); ''Gentry: Six Hundred Years of a Peculiarly English Class'', Part III: The Great Century 1610-1710, "Honour: The le Neves, Great Witchingham, Norfolk",

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

. Goodwin, Gordon
"Gawdy, John (DNB00)"
Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 21 Sir John Gawdy was deaf and mute, as was his brother Framlington. After the Gawdy family moved to

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

following the death of his mother in 1653, he attended the studio of

Matthew Snelling Matthew Snelling (1621–1678) was an English portrait miniature, miniature painter. Biography Snelling primarily painted miniature portraits, and has works that can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum. He worked as a limner for over 20 ...

, a painter and

miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

, and later that of Sir Peter Lely, deciding to become a professional portraitist. After he became heir to the Gawdy Baronetcy he painted only for pleasure. He entertained the diarist

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...

who described Gawdy as "a very handsome person… and a very fine painter; he was so civil and well bred, as it was not possible to discern any imperfection by him"."Gawdy, Sir John"
Suffolk Artists. Retrieved 29 July 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gawdy, John, 02nd Baronet 1639 births 1699 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England 17th-century English painters People from Harling, Norfolk English portrait painters English male painters