‘Two paintings show Joshua Reynolds at his absolute best’
Art lovers are celebrating as two key masterpieces, by one of the country’s greatest artists, are set to become permanent exhibits at a stately home, having been on loan for the past three decades.
The two paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) were acquired by the National Trust through the ‘Acceptance in Lieu’ scheme, administered by Arts Council England.
They’ve been on loan to Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire since 1995 and are two of the most beloved paintings in the collection.
‘I am completely delighted that these two portraits are joining the collections at the Manor permanently,’ says Pippa Shirley, Director of Waddesdon.
‘They exemplify the Rothschild taste for 18th-century portraiture of the highest quality and interest and are seen here alongside other works by Reynolds and by his great rival Thomas Gainsborough collected under the discerning eye of Baron Ferdinand, the builder of the Manor.’
‘The fact that they will remain in the house which has been their home for 30 years for everyone to enjoy is a truly generous gift to the nation.’
David Garrick Between Tragedy and Comedy and Portrait of Joanna Leigh, Mrs Richard Bennett Lloyd are from the estate of Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild.
‘These two paintings show Joshua Reynolds at his absolute best,’ says The National Trust’s John Chu who’s the charity’s Senior National Curator for Paintings and Sculpture.
‘The portrait of Joanna Lloyd carving her husband’s name onto a tree must be one of the most romantic paintings of the 18th century.’
‘Accepted on behalf of the nation’
‘In the picture of Garrick choosing between Comedy and Tragedy, he successfully set out to prove that portraiture could tell a compelling story and played into the burgeoning celebrity culture of the day.’
‘Reynolds selected these works to go into public exhibitions soon after they were painted as advertisements of his talent. They’ve more than stood the test of time and it’s fantastic that access to them is now guaranteed for future generations.’
Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild (1936-2024), supported many causes, some close to his home in Buckinghamshire – others were as far afield as Albania, Greece, Israel and the United States.
He was committed to helping communities, the environment, education and, above all, heritage and the arts.
Under his leadership, the Rothschild Foundation managed Waddesdon on behalf of The National Trust, and continued to add to the collections – with both 18th-century and contemporary art.
‘Jacob Rothschild’s family would like to thank the Acceptance in Lieu Panel for considering these glorious masterpieces by Joshua Reynolds and recommending they be accepted on behalf of the nation,’ says Dame Hannah Rothschild DBE, daughter of Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild.
‘My father would be so happy to know that they will hang in pride of place at Waddesdon Manor for every visitor to see and enjoy.’
David Garrick Between Tragedy and Comedy, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Image: Waddesdon Image Library, Mike Fear.
‘Glorious masterpieces by Joshua Reynolds’
Experts explain that Tragedy and Comedy (1761) is a ‘complex statement about Reynolds’s abilities and ambitions as an artist.’
The masterpiece is seen as an act of self-promotion by its subject, David Garrick (1717- 1779). He’s considered to be the most famous English actor of the eighteenth century.
Admired equally in both comic and tragic roles, Garrick introduced a more naturalistic and expressive style of acting that transformed the European stage. He also wrote plays and ran the Drury Lane Theatre.
Reynolds depicts Garrick choosing between the charms of Thalia, the classical muse of Comedy and Melpomene, the muse of Tragedy. Garrick is laughingly yielding to Comedy, with whose limbs his overlap.
Their animated features contrast with the more mask-like profile of Melpomene. Comedy looks knowingly out at us.
The figure demonstrates Reynolds’s mastery of the soft style of Correggio (1489-1534) and the fluidity of Rococo painting. The light falls irregularly across her face and body, picking out the plumpness of her cheeks, breast and upper arm.
The figure of Tragedy is strong and stiff, more like the work of Guido Reni (1575-1642) or the newly fashionable Neo-classical style. Her declamatory gesture looks back to an old-fashioned style of acting from which Garrick moves away.
Portrait of Joanna Leigh, Mrs Richard Bennett Lloyd, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Image: Waddesdon Image Library, Mike Fear.
‘Two contrasting masterpieces’
The second painting, Portrait of Joanna Leigh, Mrs Richard Bennett Lloyd (1775-1776) depicts Mrs Richard Bennett Lloyd inscribing her husband’s name into the bark of a tree.
She’s dressed in a loosely structured pale mauve dress, of classical inspiration, with a fringed silk sash around her waist and wears sandals after the antique.
Her profile stance allows her to lean on a rectangular stone block or plinth behind her. In the background, a wooded landscape rises up towards a steep hill.
Joanna Leigh, later Lloyd, was the co-heiress, along with her four sisters, of the rich merchant John Leigh of Northcourt House, Isle of Wight. She married Richard Bennett Lloyd of Maryland in 1775.
When Sir Joshua Reynolds made this work, he was both an established London portrait painter and the president of the newly founded Royal Academy of Arts which sought to raise the intellectual status of painters.
Both paintings were bought by Nathaniel, 1st Lord Rothschild in the 19th century for Tring Park.
‘I am delighted that these two contrasting masterpieces by Sir Joshua Reynolds have been accepted via the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme,’ says Michael Clarke CBE, Chair, Acceptance in Lieu Panel.
‘It is highly appropriate that they have been allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, one of the most popular and distinguished of all the Trust’s properties.’
Both works were acquired as part of the Acceptance in Lieu scheme. Christie’s Heritage and Taxation Department acted as the agents for the Jacob Rothschild executors.
