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Highlights from the Sir Joshua Reynolds collection

Painted image of Sir Joshua Reynolds sitting at a desk, from Saltram, Devon
Joshua Reynolds (1723–92), 1767, by Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807), from Saltram, Devon | © National Trust Images/Rob Matheson

Joshua Reynolds (1723–92) was the leading portrait painter of the 18th century. An imaginative and creative artist, his portraits were admired for their innovative compositions and ability to capture an individual’s distinctive personality. We look after the largest collection of his works in a historic house setting.

Who was Joshua Reynolds?

Joshua Reynolds was born in Devon on 16 July 1723, to a middle-class family. Interested in art from an early age, he studied essays by Leonardo da Vinci and practised drawing with his sisters.

At 17, Reynolds started training with an artist called Thomas Hudson. He then travelled to Italy and France and by the 1750s he was firmly established as a portraitist in London. As his social network grew, so did the number of commissions.

Reynolds co-founded the Royal Academy of Arts with 33 other artists in 1768 and became its first President. He was actively involved in its management and delivered a series of lectures, called the Discourses on Art, which contained his beliefs about art theory and practice.

In 1784, Reynolds became the Principal Painter in Ordinary to the King. However, the post seems to have disappointed him, writing that it was ‘of near equal dignity with His Majesty’s Rat-catcher.’

A large collection

In addition to 76 oil paintings, we also care for 607 print copies of his works, with more in bound volumes, and 77 copies of his written works. This collection forms the largest body and widest distribution of works by Joshua Reynolds in the British historic house setting.

Reynolds's early career

Portrait painting of a woman who is possibly Elizabeth Hamilton, Mrs John Cameron of Glenkindy, later the Comtesse de Fay. It was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792)
Possibly Elizabeth Hamilton, Mrs John Cameron of Glenkindy, later the Comtesse de Fay by Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (1723-1792) | © National Trust Images

Possibly Elizabeth Hamilton, Mrs John Cameron of Glenkindy, Montacute, Somerset

The cool flesh tones, blues and greys suggest this portrait was painted in the early 1750s, after Reynolds had returned from studying the Old Masters in Italy. Back in London, he set up his first studio at St Martin's Lane before moving to Great Newport Street. The 1750s saw Reynolds establish his name in the London art world. His budding flair for conveying character is revealed in this playful portrait, in which the sitter, softly illuminated against dark drapery, gazes mischievously at the viewer.

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Later career

A discourse delivered to the students of the Royal Academy on the Distribution of the Prizes
A Discourse delivered to the students of the Royal Academy on the Distribution of Prizes, December 11, 1769, by the President | © National Trust/Michael Ford

A Discourse delivered to the students of the Royal Academy, Saltram, Devon

In his famous Discourses, which were given to students at the Royal Academy, Reynolds set out his beliefs about art theory and practice. He argued that painting should be promoted to the same status as poetry, which was a more established form of the arts at that time. "The first idea that occurs in the consideration of what is fixed in art, or in taste, is that presiding principle ... the general idea of nature." (Discourse 7; 1, 204)

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New directions and Reynolds's legacy

Oil painting on canvas shows Count Ugolino shown on the left, surrounded by his children and grandchilden, in various states of despair in a dungeon.
Count Ugolino and his Children in the Dungeon, by Joshua Reynolds, Knole, Kent | © National Trust Images/Brian Tremain

Count Ugolino and his Children in the Dungeon, Knole, Kent

The miserable story of Ugolino – who was imprisoned with his sons and grandchildren and left to die of starvation – was popularised in the late 18th century largely because of this painting. Commissioned by Reynolds’s most influential patron of the 1770s, the 3rd Duke of Dorset, Ugolino was a bold venture into historical subject matter for Reynolds. It brought him considerable attention at home and abroad, and the artist himself said that the piece 'got me more credit than any I ever did before.’

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Conservation stories

The Death of Cardinal Beaufort, Petworth House and Park, Sussex

Conservation work revealed a devil-like figure in this painting which had been hidden. It was obscured by a lot of overpainting (when new paint is layered over the original work) as well as six layers of varnish. Reynolds added the ‘fiend’ to his painting of the dying Cardinal Beaufort, a scene from Shakespeare’s Henry VI Part II. The overpainting was identified through paint sampling and imaging techniques, such as observing the surface in infra-red and ultra-violet light.

Use the slider to compare the painting before and after it was conserved, and see if you can detect the once-hidden figure looming above the bed.

Slider with before and after images
Oil painting by Joshua Reynolds showing the death of Cardinal Beaufort (1377–1447) as he lies on a bed surrounded by people
Conservation work revealed a fiend in the painting The Death of Cardinal Beaufort (1377–1447), Petworth House, Sussex | © National Trust Images/Derrick E. Witty
Oil painting on canvas, The Death of Cardinal Beaufort, from William Shakespeare's Henry VI

Other conservation stories

A full-length portrait of Mrs Parker, standing on the left in a wooded landscape. Her face is in profile and her right arm is resting on a pedestal, on which there is a vase and her left hand rests across her right forearm as if feeling her pulse.
The Hon. Theresa Robinson, Mrs John Parker (1745-1775) by Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792), after conservation in 2024 | © National Trust Images/Colin White

The Hon. Theresa Robinson, Saltram, Devon

The portrait of Theresa Robinson has been examined using a range of techniques, including inspection under ultra-violet light, which revealed discoloured areas of old varnish. This technical report was added to information about the painting's original appearance from a historic mezzotint (a print made from an engraved metal plate). This information informed the conservators’ approach to removing varnish and overpaint layer by layer, area by area, at the Royal Oak Conservation Studio at Knole in Kent.

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Joshua Reynolds was a central figure in British art during the Georgian period. He had a powerful influence on generations of later artists and his paintings continue to appeal to a wide range of audiences today.

Today, we continue to look after, research and interpret the Reynolds’s works in our care, making them accessible to everyone.

Two historical garments hanging on mannequins

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