Reynolds, Sir Joshua 1723-92
English portrait painter

Born in Plympton Earls, near Plymouth, he settled in Plymouth Dock (now Devonport) in 1747. In Rome (1749-52) he studied Raphael and Michelangelo; while visiting the Vatican he caught a chill, which permanently affected his hearing. He then established himself in London and by 1760 was at the height of his fame. In 1764 he founded the Literary Club of which Dr Johnson, David Garrick, Edmund Burke, Oliver Goldsmith, James Boswell and Richard Sheridan were members. He was one of the earliest members of the Incorporated Society of Artists, and on the establishment of the Royal Academy (1768) was elected its first president. He was knighted in 1769, and in that year he delivered the first of his Discourses to the students of the Academy. In 1784 he became painter to the king, and finished his painting of Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse, a work which exists in several versions. In 1789 his sight deteriorated, and he gave up painting. Reynolds' reputation rests largely on his portraits. These are notable for their power and expressiveness, and for the beauty of their colouring. His pictures of children have a special tenderness and beauty, as in The Strawberry Girl, Simplicity, and many others. His other works include Commodore Keppel (1753, National Maritime Museum, London), and Dr Samuel Johnson (c.1756, National Portrait Gallery, London). He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.