Joshua Reynolds

At left a painting detail of a poised British general. At right a young man depicted in terracotta.
Middle Ground: Reynolds and Chinard, Capturing Fleeting Glory
The power of portraiture is particularly potent on the fourth floor of Frick Madison. Considering two seemingly unrelated likenesses on view—Reynolds’s General John Burgoyne and Chinard’s Étienne Vincent de Margnolas—Rebecca Leonard, Curatorial Assistant, examines the works’ uneasy balance between glory and tragedy, epitomizing portraiture’s poignant reflection of the human condition.
Oil painting of virgin and child in garden
Masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery
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From November 5, 2014, through February 1, 2015, the Frick presented ten masterpieces of painting from the Scottish National Gallery. The museum, one of the finest in the world, is distinguished for its holdings of works by the greatest masters of Western art and for its comprehensive collection of Scottish art.

Oil painting of woman in white dress with lilac sash sitting in chair
Masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery
Oil painting of woman in white dress with lilac sash sitting in chair
New York’s Frick Collection Launches American Tour of Works from the National Galleries of Scotland
video still of Aimee Ng and oil painting of woman in white dress
Cocktails with a Curator: Reynolds’s "Selina, Lady Skipwith"

In this week’s episode of Cocktails with a Curator, Curator Aimee Ng bids farewell to the series with a discussion of Joshua Reynolds’s Selina, Lady Skipwith, currently on view on the fourth floor of Frick Madison. Seen here with a nosegay tucked into her neck kerchief and a pallid countenance (made more so by the application of poisonous lead makeup), Selina was thirty-five years old when she sat for this portrait and had recently married the politician and baronet Thomas Skipwith despite misgivings about the union.

photo of Andrew O'Shaughnessy giving lecture at The Frick Collection
Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy: "The Old Gamester: General John Burgoyne"

British General John Burgoyne’s theatrical personality, manicured appearance, and work as a playwright perfectly embody the stereotype of the aristocratic dilettante. His portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, painted about 1766, is the inspiration for this lecture, which details Burgoyne’s career as a rising military star before his defeat at Saratoga, a battle often regarded as the turning point of the American Revolution.

Link to introductory video for the exhibition 'Masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery'
Masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery

Susan Grace Galassi, Senior Curator at The Frick Collection, introduces the exhibition Masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery, on view in the East Gallery through February 1, 2015.