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He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts and was knighted by George III in 1769. Early life. Self-portrait, aged about 24. Old Grammar School, Plympton, founded 1658, built 1664, attended by Joshua Reynolds whose father was headmaster.
Joshua Reynolds (born July 16, 1723, Plympton, Devon, England—died February 23, 1792, London) was a portrait painter and aesthetician who dominated English artistic life in the middle and late 18th century.
Learn about Joshua Reynolds, the leading portraitist of the 18th century and the founder of the Royal Academy of Arts. Explore his paintings, his style of Grand Manner portraiture, and his artistic legacy.
He soon established himself as the leading portrait painter, though he was never popular with George III. He was a key figure in the intellectual life of London, and a friend of Dr Johnson. When the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, Reynolds was elected its first President.
Learn about the life and work of the first president of the Royal Academy and a leading portrait painter of his day. Explore his artistic theories, his influence on British art, and his views on slavery and Black people.
Inspired to become an artist by Jonathan Richardson's elevated Essay on the Theory of Painting, Reynolds was apprenticed in 1740 to Thomas Hudson, the most fashionable portraitist of the day, with whom he remained until 1743.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) was one of the biggest names in eighteenth-century British art. He was most famous for his exquisite portraits, depicting the cream of Georgian society.
