STUDIO OF SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. | PORTRAIT OF MRS. MARY ROBINSON

Anonymous sale, London, Puttick and Simpson, 31 May 1932, lot 69;

With Newhouse Galleries, New York;

From whom acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Kay Kimbell, 1941;

By whom sold, New York, Sotheby's, 20 April 1983, lot 50 (as After Reynolds);

There acquired by Richard J. Collins, New York;

From whom acquired by the present collector, 1983.  

The likeness captured in this portrait is of Mrs. Mary Robinson, one of the best known public figures and beauties of the late 18th century. A successful actress and writer, she gained widespread fame in her role as Perdita in The Winter's Tale in 1779, and as a close friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds she possibly had input into his rendering of her portrait. 

A few autograph versions of her portrait by Reynolds are known, including one in the Wallace Collection¹ and an unfinished example in the Yale Center of British Art.²  Reynolds completed these portraits in about 1783-1784 towards the end of his career, and the example in the Wallace Collection seems to have remained in the artist's studio after completion, where it was later engraved in 1787 by William Birch. 

The present example appears to be a reduced replica from Reynolds' studio. Despite its smaller size, it preserves the loose handling of the originals as well as the poignant and memorable expression of the beautiful sitter who looks out to sea.   

1. Inv. no. P45, oil on canvas, 77 by 63.5 cm.  See D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, a complete catalogue of his paintings, New Haven 2000, vol. 1, p. 394, no. 1533.

2. Inv. no. B1981.25.520, oil on canvas, 93.7 by 71.8 cm. See Mannings 2000, p. 394, cat. no. 1533.