Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter of portraits. He helped to start the Royal Academy of Arts and was its first president. King George III made him Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1769.

Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA FRS FRSA
Self-portrait, c. 1750
Born	Joshua Reynolds (1723-07-16)16 July 1723 Plympton, Devon, England
Died	23 February 1792(1792-02-23) (aged 68) Leicester Fields, London, England
Resting place	St Paul's Cathedral
Nationality	British
Education	Plympton Free Grammar School
Notable work	The Age of Innocence

Lord Keppel (1779). Keppel commanded the Channel Fleet in the Battle of Ushant with the French in 1778,

Jane, Countess of Harrington by Reynolds

Colonel George K.H. Coussmaker, Grenadier Guards by Reynolds

Some critics disliked Reynolds and the Royal Academy. The Pre-Raphaelites called him "Sir Sloshua" and William Blake published a savage pamphlet Annotations to Sir Joshua Reynolds' Discourses in 1808. On the other hand, Turner was a strong supporter, and asked to be buried at Reynolds' side.

Reynolds has over 1000 portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Despite Blake's criticisms, Reynold's Discourses had a lasting impact on the theory and practice of art.