Who was Joshua Reynolds?
Painter and Foundation Member and First President
of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Date and Place of Birth:
16th July 1723, Plympton, Devon, England.
Family Background:
Seventh child of ten (or eleven children) of
the Reverend Samuel Reynolds, Master of Plympton Grammar School
and his wife Theophila.
Education:
Plympton Grammar School. 1740 went to London
to be apprenticed to Thomas Hudson, the son-in-law and a pupil of
Richardson.
Chronology/Biography of Joshua Reynolds:
1769: Received
his Knighthood from King George 111.
1740: Starts an
apprenticeship with Thomas Hudson, the fashionable portrait painter
in London.
1743: Ends his apprenticeship
after a quarrel with his master.
1747: Paints a self
portrait.
1749: Becomes friends
with Augustus Keppel a naval officer and goes to Portugal, Spain
and Minorca and on to Italy.
1750: Arrives in
Rome. He suffered from a severe cold which made him partially deaf
and he had to use an ear trumpet for the rest of his life.
1752: Reynolds starts
the Journey home and stays in Paris on way and brings Giuseppe Marchi
with him as his assistant.
1753: Finds a house
in St Martin's Lane, London.
1757: Paints a Self
Portrait.
1759: Charges 100
Guineas for one of his full length portrait paintings.
1760: Takes up residence
in number 47 Leicester Square London where he establishes a large
studio. Exhibits at the first Annual Exhibition of the Society of
Arts.
1764: Foundation
of the Literary Club (later known just as "The Club")
with Samuel Johnson and others. Meetings
are held at the Turks Head public house in Gerrard Street.
1765: Reynolds prices
have now risen to 150 guineas for a full length portrait.
1768: He is elected
as the first President of the Royal Academy of Arts. Visits Paris
again.
1769: Gives the
first of his discourses on art at the Academy in January. The first
Annual Exhibition is held.
1771: Visits Paris
once more.
1772: Reynolds is
elected as an Alderman of the Borough of Plympton. Paints a portrait
of Oliver Goldsmith.
1773: Given a Doctorate
by the University of Oxford in Civil Law. He is elected as Mayor
of Plympton.
1774: Charles
James Fox becomes a member of the club.
1775: Elected a
Member of the Academy of Florence.
The Royal Academy of Arts in London where Reynolds was first
President
(© Anthony Blagg)
1779: Paints a portrait
of Edward Gibbon.
1780: The Royal
Academy of Art moves into new premises on the Strand. Painted a
view of Richmond Hill. Although he was famous for portrait painting
and was to complete over three thousand in his lifetime he also
worked on landscapes.
1781: Reynolds goes
on a tour of the Low Countries.
1783: Reynolds suffers
a major inflammation of his eyes.
1784: He is appointed
as Principal Painter in Ordinary to King George the Third after
the death of Allan Ramsay.
1785: Makes a visit
to Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels.
1787: Reynolds exhibits
a portrait of Prince George in the Royal Academy exhibition.
1789: He loses the
vision in one of his eyes. Makes a visit to the south coast for
his health. Paints a portrait of Richard
Brinsley Sheridan.
1790: Resigns as
President of the Royal Academy of Arts, but withdraws his resignation
a few months later. The General Assembly agreed to his re-instatement
and appointed Benjamin West and Sir William Chambers to deputise
for him when he was in ill health. Delivers the last of his discourses
on art at the Academy.
1791: Loses most
of his vision.
Written Works:
Married:
Never married.
Date and Place of Death:
23rd February 1792, Leicester Fields, London,
England.
Age at Death:
68.
Site of Grave:
St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England.
St Paul's Cathedral, London
(© Anthony Blagg)
Places of
Interest:
AVON:
Holbourne Museum, Bath
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Bristol City Art Gallery
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE:
Ascot Racecourse
CAMBRIGESHIRE:
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Porters Hall, Trinity College, Cambridge
Elton Hall, Peterborough
DEVON:
Saltham Park, Plymouth
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
City Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth
ESSEX:
Audley End, Saffron Walden
DURHAM:
Bowes Museum, Durham
GLOUCESTERSHIRE:
Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe
HAMPSHIRE:
City Art Gallery, Southampton
HERTFORDSHIRE:
Hatfield House, Hatfield
Woburn Abbey, Woburn
KENT:
Knole, Sevenoaks
LANCASHIRE:
Blackburn Art Gallery
LINCOLNSHIRE:
Belvoir Castle, Grantham
Gunby Hall, Spilsby
Normandy Hall, Scunthorpe
LONDON:
The Royal Academy of Arts. (There is a statue
of him outside as he was the RA's first President).
Dr Johnson's House Museum
Geffreye Museum.
National Portrait Gallery
Sir John Soanes Museum
Tate Britain
Wallace Collection
National Maritime Museum
Kenwood House
MERSEYDSIDE:
Sudley House, Liverpool
MIDDLESEX:
Ham House, Richmond
Marble Hill House, Twickenham
NORFOLK:
Felbrigg Hall, Felbrigg, Norwich
Houghton Hall, Kings Lynn
NORTHUMBERLAND:
Alnwick Castle, Alnwick
OXFORDSHIRE:
Blenheim Palace, Woodstock
Buscot Park, Faringdon
Christchurch Picture Gallery, Oxford
Rousham House, Steeple Aston
STAFFORDSHIRE:
Wedgwood Museum, Barlaston, Stoke on Trent
Shugborough Hall, Stafford
SUFFOLK:
Manor House Museum, Bury St Edmunds
SURREY:
Polesden Lacey, Dorking
SUSSEX:
Arundel Castle
Art Gallery, Brighton
Goodwood House, Chichester
Petworth House, Petworth
TYNE AND WEAR:
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle
WARWICKSHIRE:
Arbury Hall, Nuneaton
Ragley Hall, Alcester
Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford on Avon
Upton House
WORCESTERSHIRE:
Hagley Hall, Hagley
YORKSHIRE:
Temple Newsam House, Leeds
Harewood House, Leeds
Cartwright Hall, Bradford
Branham Park, Wetherby
Beninbrugh Hall, York
Castle Howard, York
SCOTLAND:
Dalmony House, South Queensferry
Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfries
Floors Castle, Berwickshire
Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire
Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow
Museum and Art Gallery, Inverness
Scone Palace, Scone, Perth
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
WALES:
School of Art Gallery, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
NORTHERN IRELAND:
Ulster Museum, Belfast
Powis Castle, Welshpool
