Sir Joshua Reynolds
Sophia, Lady St. Asaph with Her Son
1785
Scroll
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Sophia, Lady St. Asaph with Her Son
1785
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 55 3/4 x 43 1/2 in. (141.6 x 110.5 cm.)
Credit Line
The Jacob Epstein Collection
Object Number
1951.111
The British portraitist Sir Joshua Reynolds painted this aristocratic young woman, Sophia, Lady St. Asaph (1763-1791), enjoying an informal, carefree moment with her infant son, George. Evident in the work is the artist’s use of rich color, strong lighting, and free handling of paint.
Reynolds, a rival of Thomas Gainsborough, traveled in Italy and France before returning to England where he established himself as London’s foremost portraitist. A founder of the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts, he was elected its first president in 1768.
--EPS, label text as of August 2023
The Baltimore Museum of Art on deposit; The Baltimore Museum of Art on extended loan, 1929-1951; the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, by bequest, 1945; Jacob Epstein, by purchase, 1924; M. Knoedler and Co., New York; Collection of the Earl of Ashburnham, Battle, Sussex
Manning, David, "Sir Joshua Reynolds: A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings," New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000, 66.
Hallett, Mark, "Reynolds: Portraiture in Action," New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2014, color illust. p. 413.
Rosenthal, Gertrude, ed. From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artists. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1968, pp. 59, ill.
On View at the BMA
