SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) The Honourable Henry Fane with Inigo Jones and Charles Blair (1762) Oil on canvas (254 x 360 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Joshua was the seventh child of Samuel Reynolds, a schoolmaster, and his wife, Teophila Potter. He would have received a sound classical education under his father who …
Category: British Artists
A handsome gentleman
SIR PETER LELY (1618-1680) Sir Henry Capel Oil on canvas (126 x 103 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" The artist was the son of a captain of infantry in the service of the Elector of Brandenburg. Born Pieter …
A classical landscape
JOHN WOOTTON (1682-1764) A classical landscape with gypsies (1748) Oil on canvas (140 x 130 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Born in Snitterfield (Warwickshire) circa 1682, John Wootton is best remembered as a pioneer in the painting of sporting …
A Georgian Beauty
GEORGE ROMNEY (1734-1802) Lady Elizabeth Stanley, Countess of Derby (1778) Oil on canvas (127 x 102 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Romney received little formal education, having left school at an early age to train with his father, …
The arrogant admiral
FRANCIS COTES (1726-1770) Admiral Harry Paulet, Sixth Duke of Bolton (1765) Oil on canvas (127 x 102 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" The son of a prominent apothecary and the older brother of Samuel Cotes, the miniaturist, Francis …
A Morbid Sitter
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) George Augustus Selwyn (c.1764-66) Oil on canvas (99 x 76 cm) The Earl of Rosebery, Dalmeny House, near Edinburgh Apart from being an example of Reynolds' artistic virtuosity, this portrait is fascinating because it represents a distraught individual whose face does not reveal his morbid character. According to Nicholas Penny: "George …
The Countess
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) Anne, 2nd Countess Albemarle (c. 1759) Oil on canvas (126 x 101 cm) The National Gallery, London Although some colour has fled from the face in this portrait as is usual with Reynold's work of this period, the shadows there retain their transparency; the lights painted in the patterned black mantle …
Margaret’s Portrait
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788) Mrs Gainsborough (1778) Oil on canvas (77 x 64 cm) Courtauld Institute Galleries, University of London To enlarge the image, right-click on it, then "Open in a new tab" Gainsborough had been married for over 30 years by the date of this portrait. His marriage to Margaret Burr (1728-1798) was, presumably, a …
The Musical MP
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788) William Wollaston (1758) Oil on canvas (121 x 98 cm) Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, UK To enlarge the image, right-click on it and then "Open in a new tab" According to Nicola Kalinsky: "This portrait must have been one of the last Gainsborough undertook in Suffolk before he moved from Ipswich. Wollaston (1730-1797). …
A Scholar and a Gentleman
ALLAN RAMSAY (1713-1784) Robert Wood (1755) Oil on canvas (98 x 74 cm) National Gallery, London Robert Wood (1716-1771), was a classical scholar, archaeologist and politician; educated at the University of Glasgow. After early travels in France, Italy and the Middle East. he joined John Bouverie and James Dawkins on their expedition to Asia Minor and Greece, …
Old Masters 