Oil portrait of Bartlett Gurney, late 18th century

This classic portrait (by Vandermine) of an early country banker shows Bartlett Gurney, a partner between 1777 and 1800 in the Norwich Bank, co-founded in 1775 by his father Henry. The picture shows Bartlett holding a specimen of a Gurney banknote for £10. One recent biographer has said of Bartlett: 'despite his considerable wealth he kept many Quaker characteristics...he eschewed any ostentation in dress and his well-worn hunting clothes often served for visits to branches of the bank.' Many of the early Gurneys were Whigs in politics, and Bartlett stood (unsuccessfully) for parliament at Norwich in 1796, opposing the government's war policy and general administration.