Kathleen Irene Ashburnham Newton (née Kelly; 1854–1882) was an Irish-British model, best known for her many sittings with the French artist James Tissot. Her artistic relationship with Tissot quickly turned into a romantic one, and the two lived together, representing themselves as a married couple, for the rest of her life, which was cut short by tuberculosis. She modeled for Tissot constantly throughout their time together, and Tissot's biographers remembered her as his muse.[1][2]: 125
Although Tissot's contemporary audience understood his relationship with Newton, biography published during his lifetime did not mention her, and magazine coverage of his work only discussed her obliquely.[2]: 125, 128 Tissot referred to her by pseudonyms like la mystérieuse (the mysterious) and la belle irlandaise (the Irish beauty) in the titles of his paintings.[1] His biographers started including her in his story soon after he died in 1902, referring to her by a nickname, Kitty, that he had used.[2]: 125 Her full identity entered the historical record in 1954, when her niece Lilian Hervey answered a journalist's plea for information about her.[2]: 126