Enfilade

Left: Joshua Reynolds, Portrait of Lady Anne Bonfoy, née Eliot (1729–1810), oil on canvas, 125 × 100 cm (Acquired from the Trustees of Port Eliot Estate through the acceptance in lieu scheme, 2007). Right: Joshua Reynolds, Self Portrait, 1746, oil on canvas, 104 × 90 cm (Plymouth: The Box, 2014.71, purchased with the assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund, V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and the Art Fund, with a contribution from the Wolfson Foundation).

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Opening this month at The Box:

Reframing Reynolds: A Celebration
The Box, Plymouth, 24 June 2023 — 29 October 2023

This major new exhibition celebrates the 300th anniversary of the birth of famous portrait painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was born in nearby Plympton St Maurice.

Joshua Reynolds (1723–1794) was known for capturing his clients’ personalities, being one of the founding members and first president of the prestigious Royal Academy in London, as well as one of the most influential painters of the 1700s. Reframing Reynolds: A Celebration explores the career of this famous 18th-century portrait artist within a global context, highlighting themes such as image, identity, his studio practice, his early career in Plymouth Dock (now Devonport), and his use of pigment, colour, and light.

Important works from The Box’s permanent collection are shown alongside loans from national and private collections including Tate, The Woburn Abbey Collection, National Trust, National Maritime Museum, and The Barber Institute of Fine Arts. The loans are supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund. Created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Art Fund, the programme is the first ever UK-wide funding scheme to enable smaller and local authority museums to borrow works of art and artefacts from national collections.

Reynolds’ enduring legacy and his ongoing relevance for artists today are highlighted through an exciting collaboration with Royal Academician Rana Begum, who has created new works inspired by three of his portraits. Begum’s internationally touring Dappled Light exhibition will also be on display at The Box this summer.

Keen to discover more about Sir Joshua Reynolds?

• Learn about the National Trust’s Reynolds 300 programme.
• Find out more about what’s happening at Saltram House.
• Book for one of the Royal Academy’s Artists on Art talks, which have been programmed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of Reynolds’ birth.
• Book a ticket for a special Sir Joshua Reynolds at 300 talk and panel discussion at Plympton St Maurice Guildhall on 14 July.