Details

Name

Joshua Reynolds

Brief Biography

1723–1792, British/English

Occupation

Painter

Description

After receiving some instruction from Hudson, the portrait painter, and others, Reynolds spent three years studying in Italy, thereafter, he settled in London, where he quickly attained a great reputation. On the foundation of the RA in 1768 he was elected first president, and received a knighthood from George III. Later in life he received the DCL from the University of Oxford, and was appointed principal painter to the King, in succession to Allan Ramsay. His services were in demand by all the most distinguished persons of his period, and his personal influence on the progress of British art was powerful and beneficial. His well-known 'Discourses on the Fine Arts' remain to this day a standard of opinion and criticism. He died in London and was buried in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral.