Sophia, Lady St. Asaph with Her Son

1786

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Sir Joshua Reynolds

Sophia, Lady St. Asaph with Her Son

1786

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.