Brief Biography-Sir Joshua Reynolds was born in Plympton, Devonshire. His father, the Rev Samuel Reynolds, wanted him to do medicine; however, because of his early love of art, he assigned him to the portraitist Thomas Hudson in London for tuition in 1740. The works of Allan Ramsay, William Hogarth and Hudson, to a minor extent, influenced him somewhat. He stayed with Hudson for three years before returning to Plympton, where he established himself as a portraitist and received several commissions.
In 1743, back in London, he was presented to Commodore Keppel, who arranged for him to travel on his vessel to Rome via Lisbon. He visited Livorno, Venice and Florence; there, the Italian Great Masters impressed him much. He collaborated with several other English artists in Rome, including Richard Wilson and John Astley. He stayed in Rome for two years.
He returned to London via a short stay in Paris and three months in Devonshire in 1752. In London, he became successful as a portrait painter in the Grand Style, a style he vigorously instilled in his many pupils. His income reached six thousand a year which enabled him to amass a considerable art collection. He was a member of several gentlemen's clubs, one being the Society of Dilettanti which allowed him membership as he had been on a Grand Tour to Italy; it was a membership requirement. The club supported the arts and helped create the Royal Academy. In 1768, the new Royal Academy made him the first President, and in 1769, he received a Knighthood. He exhibited many of his paintings at the Academy on an annual basis. In 1781, he visited Holland, where the style of Rubens was to influence him greatly.
He spent his last years in 47 Leicester Fields, where he wrote his ledgers, which are inventories of his commissions that still exist. During these years, he painted what he referred to in Thomas Gainsborough's works as fancy paintings, a style of genre paintings depicting daily life scenes.
In 1789, his eyesight began to fail, and he virtually stopped painting; however, he continued his work as President of the Academy. He became very unwell in 1791 and died a year later. His remains lie in the crypt of Saint Paul's Cathedral. Sir Joshua Reynolds is one of the most celebrated British artists.