Captain George K. H. Coussmaker

painting by Joshua Reynolds

Captain George K. H. Coussmaker (1782) is an oil painting by Joshua Reynolds. Coussmaker was born in London in 1759 to Evert and Mary Coussmaker. He entered the military in 1776. He was promoted several times. He never saw active service. He retired in 1795. He married Catherine Southwell in 1790. They had two children, George and Sophia (later, the Baroness de Clifford). He died in 1801.

Captain George K. H. Coussmaker
ArtistJoshua Reynolds
Year1782
Mediumoil painting
Dimensions238.1 cm × 145.4 cm (93.7 in × 57.2 in)
LocationMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Coussmaker sat for Reynolds 21 times and his horse 8 times between February 9 and April 16. Reynolds was paid 205 pounds. Another 10 guineas was paid for the frame. The portrait remained with Coussmaker and his descendants until 1884. It was then sold to William K. Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1920. Museum curators describe the picture as "an exceptionally fine work ... The composition is complex and the whole vigorously painted."

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