Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse
Sir Joshua Reynolds
1784
Physical Description
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 94 1/4 x 58 1/8 in.
Production Description
Production Date: 1784
Exhibition History: Royal Academy, 1784
Provenance
Current Location: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA
Catalog Number: 21.02
Archival History: Purchased from Reynolds by Noel Desenfans, February 1790, for Charles Alexandre
de Calonne; Calonne sale, Skinner & Dyke, March 28, 1795 (lot 97); purchased by
William Smith, Norwich; sold privately to George Watson Taylor; Taylor sale, Christie's, June
13, 1823 (lot 64); purchased by Robert, 2nd Earl of Grosvenor, later 1st Marquess of
Westminster; by descent to Hugh, 2nd Duke of Westminster; his sale, Christie's, July 4, 1919
(lot 25), bought in; sold to Duveen; acquired by Henry E. Huntington, 1921
Electronic Archive Edition: 1
File Name:
op133.rap.xml
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
In the early years of the PRB and DGR's career, Reynolds represented the unprogressive character of Royal Academy instruction. Dubbed "Sloshua", his name became associated with a loose and careless style of painting, apparent in a sketch by DGR. WMR notes that DGR's distaste for Reynolds was fueled if not inspired by the sentiments of William Blake ( Family Letters , 109, 157).
Bibliography