kit-cat

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kit-cat a canvas of a standard size (typically 36 × 28 inches, 91.5 × 71 cm), especially as used for a life-size portrait showing the sitter's head, shoulders, and one or both hands. The name comes from a series of portraits of the members of the Kit-Cat Club, an association of prominent Whigs and literary figures founded in the early part of the 18th century. It was named after Kit (= Christopher) Cat or Catling, who kept the pie house in Shire Lane, by Temple Bar, the original meeting place of the club.

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