remember it." Poor Mr. Phillips whispered to Haydon, "You see people have different tastes." "It served him heartily right," says Haydon, "I was very glad of it; he does not deserve his prize." The moment these people heard Haydon was the adviser, they all began to undervalue it; and as soon as Northcote had said what he thought would make Phillips unhappy for two hours, he slunk away.

In May, 1856, five months after the death of Mr. Rogers, were sold the celebrated pictures by Reynolds, which had been collected in the poet's residence in St. James'-place. They had been removed to the great room at Christie's. The first picture put up was Lot 581, The Mob-cap-the principal figure in the celebrated composition of The Infant Academy. The biddings commenced at 250 guineas, and were finally closed by Mr. Radclyffe, for 780 guineas: purchased for Miss Burdett Coutts. Lot 591, April Sketching, formed the companion to the Girl with a Kitten, in Lord Normanton's collection, and had been purchased by Mr. Rogers at Lady Thomond's sale, for 100 guineas-350 guineas. Lot 691, The Strawberry Girl, the great gem of the collection, was bought for the Marquis of Hertford, at 2,100 guineas. This is a duplicate of the picture now at Bowood, the seat of the Marquis of Lansdowne, and was bought of Sir Joshua, by Lord Carysfort, for 50 guineas! Lot 695, the Sleeping Girl, described by Northcote as one of Reynolds's richest performances, sold for 150 guineas.

Lot 702, The Study from the Window of Sir Joshua's Villa at Richmond Hill, bought by Mr. Rogers at Lady Thomond's sale for 155 guineas,-sold for 430 guineas.

Lot 706, Cupid and Psyche, one of the most beautiful of Sir Joshua's fancy subjects, was bought by Mr. Radclyffe, for 400 guineas.

Lot 714, Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, sold to Earl Fitzwilliam, for 980 guineas.

When West was told of Rogers's purchase of Puck, he exclaimed, "Sir, that man has taste, he runs away with all the fine things.'

The poet's brother, Mr. Henry Rogers, of Highbury, among other beautiful specimens of art, possessed Sir Joshua's first picture of the Girl sitting for her portrait, in Lord Palmerston's celebrated picture of the Infant Academy; and also the lovely picture of the Girl sketching from Nature.

CHARACTERISTICS, RETROSPECTIVE OPINIONS,

AND PERSONAL TRAITS.

REYNOLDS'S FIRST LESSON IN ART.

Mrs. Jameson says of the important influence which Richardson's Treatise exercised over the mind of Sir Joshua: "It appears to me that the boy who at eight years old was ever found with a pencil in his hand, copying prints out of books, who at the same time had mastered the Jesuits' Perspective, would have been a painter in any case; but the perusal of Richardson's book at the age of fifteen or sixteen, elevated and directed his boyish enthusiasm; it made him the painter which he afterwards became, He closed it, he says, with the conviction that Raphael was the greatest man who had ever existed. But this was nothing compared with the aspirations of a still higher kind, produced by the same striking book. It is impossible, I think, to look back upon the whole tenour of Sir Joshua's life, without a perception of the excellent moral influence its perusal left upon his mind and character. The lofty claims which Richardson set forth in behalf of painting as an art; the union of knowledge and virtue with creative genius; of high qualities with great attainments, which he requires in the artist; seem to have made an ineffaceable impression on the thoughtful, dreaming boy, and to have produced, or at least developed, that singular union of self-respect and pride in his art, with modesty and humility, which distinguished him through life. Some passages of Richardson's book would seem to have been written before Sir Joshua's time, and intended to apply to him, if we did not know to the contrary, that it was actually published some years before he was born. . . . It is clear that Richardson's ideal of portraiture, and the qualities and aims of a portrait-painter, were ever present in Sir Joshua's mind throughout the whole of his career."

HUDSON, SIR JOSHUA'S MASTER.

"Thomas Hudson, the scholar and son-in-law of Mr. Richardson, enjoyed for many years the chief business of

portrait-painting in London, after his master and Jervas were gone off the stage; though Vanloo first, and Liotard afterwards, for a few years, diverted the torrent of fashion from the established professor. Still, says Walpole, the country gentlemen were faithful to their compatriot, and were content with the fair-tied wigs, blue velvet coats, and white satin waistcoats which he liberally bestowed on his customers. His likenesses were good: his portraits of Handel, one of which is in the Bodleian Gallery at Oxford, exhibit much character and spirited execution; but having painted the head, Hudson's genius failed him, and he was obliged to employ another to paint the figure and drapery. He chiefly employed Vanaken, or Vanhááken, and when he died, in 1749, Hudson, it is said, was nearly driven to quit his profession; and, says Mr. Cotton, Hogarth, (whose genius was too great, and his employment too little, to require a drapery painter,) drew a caricature of his funeral attended by the painters he worked for, exhibiting every mark of grief and despair.

"Hudson lived in Great Queen-street, Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, in the house in which Hoole, the translator of Tasso, lived: it is now divided into Nos. 55 and 56. Hudson painted most of the portraits of the Dilettanti Society, which now hang in their dining-room, at the Thatched House Tavern, St. James's-street. His manner of painting was woolly, possessing little variety of attitude, and no depth of knowledge in reflected lights. All that Hudson was famous for was his collection of fine drawings by the great painters, particularly Rembrandt. Hudson's name is frequently mentioned when Sir Joshua Reynolds is spoken of, as having been his master; but Sir Joshua's mind and talent were his own, and a host of Hudsons could have rendered him but little service."-J. T. Smith.

Joshua, immediately after his quarrel with his master, returned to Devonshire, but remained there only a few months, when he went back to London, became reconciled to Hudson, who not only received him kindly, but even consulted him upon the pictures he had in hand; and a letter of Joshua's father states that Hudson had introduced the young painter into a club of the most famous men in their profession. This letter shows that Joshua was living in London in 1744 and 1745. He was summoned to Devonshire towards the close of 1746: his father died on Christmas

day, 1746. Soon after this, and when the family were obliged to remove from the schoolmaster's residence at Plympton, Joshua took a house in Plymouth Dock, now Devonport. Malone, however, states that Reynolds told him that when about the age of nineteen or twenty, he became very careless about his profession, and lived for near three years at Plymouth in a great deal of dissipation with but indifferent company. He much lamented the loss of these three years; however, he saw his error in time, and sat down seriously to his art about the year 1743 or 1744, painted his first portrait-Captain Hamilton, a naval officer, who married Lord Eliot's mother.

This portrait of Captain Hamilton was the first of his performances at this period, which brought Reynolds into notice.

REYNOLDS'S EARLY PORTRAITS.

Reynolds resided with his two unmarried sisters at Plymouth Dock. Here, among his early portraits, he painted the greatest man of the place, the Commissioner of the Dock-yard, Philip Vanbrugh, Esq.; and his father wrote soon after, "Joshua is painting in the Dock: he has drawn twenty already, and has ten more bespoke." Mr. Kendal, of Pelyn, M.P., informed' Mr. Cotton that he had in his possession some family portraits, with Reynolds's name, and the date 1744, upon them. A portrait of Alderman Facey, in the Athenæum, at Plymouth, is said to have been painted by Reynolds. Many of the pictures he executed at this period were carelessly drawn, and frequently in common-place attitudes like those of his master, Hudson; nor do these portraits exhibit those excellencies of colouring and power of expression for which the painter was afterwards distinguished.

Nevertheless, Reynolds now produced several fine portraits, particularly one of himself as a young man, with pencils and palette in his left hand, shading the light from his eyes with the right.* There is also a beautiful portrait of Mrs. Field, the sister-in-law of the Rev. J. Reynolds, Sir Joshua's uncle, which must have been painted before he went to Italy. The carnations are of great delicacy and clearness, and the features well defined. About the same time he painted the portrait of Elizabeth Chudleigh, afterwards Duchess of Kingston, which is engraved in Walpole's Letters to Sir Horace Mann. This portrait, in fine preservation, is in our National Portrait

*

Gallery.

PORTRAIT OF LORD BUTE.

This magnificent full-length portrait of the Minister, Lord Bute, is in finer condition than it was known to have been when it passed from the easel of Sir Joshua to Caen-wood House, then the princely seat of the unpopular Premier. Reynolds, in painting this portrait, stripped to the labour. He was disliked at Court, and Allan Ramsay, his then rival, was in high reputation for an excellent full-length portrait he had newly completed of the same nobleman. It was Reynolds's aim to remove the effect of Ramsay's portrait, and to place himself not only above Ramsay, but on a rank with the greatest masters; and he succeeded. Oddly enough, this picture is not to be found in any catalogue of Sir Joshua's portraits: it now belongs to Lord Wharncliffe.

Ramsay, the painter, used to say, that Lord Bute's leg was allowed to be the handsomest in England, and that whilst he was standing to him for his whole-length portrait, engraved by Ryland, his Lordship held up his robes considerably above his right knee, so that his leg should be entirely seen; in which position he remained for the space of an hour; and the forefinger of the right hand supporting the robe, is pointing down to the leg. When the Marquis of Rockingham was standing to Sir Joshua Reynolds for his whole-length portrait, engraved by Fisher, his Lordship asked the Painter if he had not given a strut to the left leg: "My Lord," replied Sir Joshua, "I wish to show a leg with Ramsay's Lord Bute."

REYNOLDS'S PRICES AND SITTERS.

Cotton states that while residing in St. Martin's-lane, Reynolds's prices were 10, 20, and 40 guineas, for the three usual sizes of Portraits, a head, half-length, and whole length; while those of Hudson, at the same time, were 12, 24, and 48 guineas. After his removal to Newport-street, his practice increased so rapidly that he engaged as an assistant Mr. Toms, an artist, whom Hogarth used to call "Reynolds's draperyman," to forward the preparation of his pictures. About the same time he also received Thomas Beach and Hugh Barron as pupils, and raised his prices to a level with those of Hudson. Four or five years later, they both raised them to 15, 30, and 60 guineas.