Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A.

Probably Sir John Milburn, by 1906;
His sale, 10 June 1909, lot 117, to Colnaghi;
Probably with Knoedler & Co., New York;
Probably with Hirschl & Adler, New York;
From whom acquired by the Columbus Museum of Arts and Sciences, Columbus, GA;
By whom sold ("Property of the Columbus Museum"), New York, Christie's, 17 October 2006, lot 270 (as attributed to Reynolds, "Portrait of Sir Robert Fletcher").

Probably London, Royal Academy, 1906, no. 80 (as "Sir Robert Fletcher");
Allentown, PA, Allentown Art Museum, The World of Benjamin West, 1 May-31 July 1962, no. 44 (as a "Portrait of Major John Andre").

J.C. Watson, Reynolds in Canada, exhibition catalogue, Waterloo 1988, p. 56, under cat. no. 18;
D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, New Haven 2000, Text vol., p. 335, cat. no. 1259.

Canvas is lined and is stable on its stretcher. The painting presents a strong image that retains good detail beneath a clear varnish. The portrait is within a painted oval, and there are a few losses to the extreme edges outside of the oval, for example in the lower right corner (as visible in the printed catalogue). These losses are not visible when the painting is framed. Inspection under UV reveals some scattered retouching, faintly visible to naked eye, in the sitter's red jacket, particularly at the center of his upper chest and in his right arm. UV also reveals a thin vertical repaired tear of about three inches in the background at upper right. Further inspection is slightly impeded by a milky varnish, but there appear to be some old scattered retouching to lower sky at left and possibly a few small spots in sitter's face. Painting can be hung in its current condition. Offered in an elaborately carved giltwood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

We are grateful to David Mannings for confirming this painting to be by Reynolds, based on photographs. Though there has been some confusion in the Reynolds literature over the identification of several similar portraits of military officers, Dr. Mannings has identified the correct sitter of this portrait to be Sir Thomas Mills (died 1793) and not Sir Robert Fletcher as the sitter was identified in the 2006 sale (see Provenance).  Though Reynolds also painted a portrait of Sir Robert Fletcher, which is presently untraced, his likeness is known from the engraving made after his portrait by W. Dickinson. 

Reynolds painted two portrait types of Mills, an earlier full-face version of circa 1771 known in two autograph versions (National Museum, Stockholm and Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto), and the present type, circa 1776, in which Mills is turned to the left.  Another version of this portrait is in the McCord Museum of Canadian History, McGill University, Montreal. 

Mills joined the army in 1759 and was a Lieutenant in the 47^th Foot in 1760.  He served in Quebec and in England and was knighted in 1772.

 

 

1.  Adding to the confusion, Dr. Mannings has further pointed out that the reproduction of his cat. no. 650 in his catalogue raisonné (see under Literature) which is the portrait of Sir Robert Fletcher, is incorrect and mistakenly reproduces a portrait of Sir Thomas Mills (private correspondence dated 13 September 2017.