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Sir Joshua Reynolds
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Great Britons: 250 Lives

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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
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:

  • 1778: First Seven Discourses on Art

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

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