Spotlight on Reynolds

Joshua Reynolds was born on 16 July 1723. He was the first President of the Royal Academy and a huge influence on British painting of the 18th century. He was also Lord Iveagh’s favourite artist: there are 17 paintings by Reynolds at Kenwood House – a unique collection.

To mark the 300th anniversary of his birth, the Friends of Kenwood funded the special display Spotlight on Reynolds. This interpretative trail explored Reynolds’ transformative impact on British art in the 18th century. From the portrait of Catherine Moore, painted in Paris in 1752 when a young Reynolds was returning from his studies in Italy, to Miss Cocks and her Niece, one of the last paintings begun by Reynolds before the loss of his sight around 1790, the exceptional collection at Kenwood spanned the artist’s lifetime, displaying his mastery of colour, bravura brushwork and inventiveness of composition.

“… a splendid opportunity to see the span of the work of the man who dominated the artistic life of England in his age” – London Evening Standard.