Surname: Reynolds Forename(s): Joshua b. 16 July 1723. d. 23 February 1792. Nationality: English. VIAF.
Portrait painter and art theorist. Based in London and Plymouth. Studied under portraitist
Thomas Hudson. Travelled extensively around Italy (1750-1752). Returned to England
and painted hundreds of portraits of the aristocracy as well as the King and Queen.
Close friends with Samuel Johnson, with whom he founded The Literary Club in 1764.
Became president of the Royal Academy in 1768 and principal painter-in-ordinary to
the King in 1784. Knighted in 1769. Gave a series of lectures, Discourses on Art, from 1769 to 1790. Biographical information: Benezit. (CC)