Spotlight on Reynolds review – superficial portraits by a well-connected hack
One of his paintings recently sold for £50m – but William Blake was right when he said Reynolds ‘depressed art’, as this show demonstrates all too well
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One of his paintings recently sold for £50m – but William Blake was right when he said Reynolds ‘depressed art’, as this show demonstrates all too well
John Hamilton Mortimer (1740-1779), Captain James Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, Lord Sandwich, Dr Daniel Solander and Dr John Hawkesworth, c. 1771, oil on canvas, nla.pic-an7351768
John Hamilton Mortimer and the discovery of Captain Cook John Hamilton Mortimer (1740-1779), Captain James Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, Lord Sandwich, Dr Daniel Solander and Dr John Hawkesworth, c. 1771, oil on canvas, nla.pic-an7351768 The National Library of Australia holds within its large collection of artworks a most intriguing eighteenth century painting, the bequest of Dame Merlyn Myer. A beautiful work in good condition, the painting is unsigned and lacks its original title. Early research into the painting revealed that it had hung unremarked in private collections for 150 years and t...