Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1973.1.48
Gallery Label:
Unlike Thomas Gainsborough, who favored a close imitation of nature to capture likeness, Joshua Reynolds advocated a generalizing style of painting to lift his portraits away from the contemporary moment. Although he claimed to seek a more timeless style, he was also an experimental painter who privileged immediate and temporary visual effects over the long-term stability of his paintings, often using pigments known to fade or degrade over time. This, however, is an exceptionally well-preserved picture, still retaining the reds in the flesh that have faded in many of his other portraits. Campbell’s portrait was commissioned by her elder brother, John Campbell, first Baron Cawdor of Castlemartin, a strong supporter of war against the thirteen American colonies that had recently issued their Declaration of Independence when Miss Campbell sat to Reynolds. Gallery label for installation of ycba collection, 2016
