FOLLOWER OF SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. | Portrait of a boy

oil on canvas, unlined, unframed The present work is a copy after a painting by Reynolds which sold at Christie's, London, 3 December 2013, lot 43, for £500,000.1 This type of portrait is an example of Reynolds’s 'fancy pictures' of the 1770s, a genre he became increasingly preoccupied with towards the end of his career. The young boy was originally identified as Edwin, the hero from The Minstrel, a poem published in 1771 by Reynolds’s friend, James Beattie – although more recently this has been questioned. 1 https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/sir-joshua-reynolds-pra-edwin-study-of-5755419-details.aspx?from=salesummery&intobjectid=5755419&sid=d3df05f6-dc64-40d6-86da-9ea0ce4ce7ea 

All paintings available to view at the Sotheby’s Greenford Park warehouse, 5 - 7 and 10 – 13 September (10 - 4pm), by appointment. The canvas is lined, the paint surface is dirty and the varnish is discoloured. There is evidence of wear throughout. There are small paint losses in the background to the left of his hair, in his right shoulder, and along the upper and lower margins. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals little to no intervention save for some retouching around the aforementioned losses.
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