LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM.- Penguin Books just released Joshua Reynolds - The Life and Times of the First President of the Royal Academy by Ian McIntyre. McIntyre traces Joshua Reynolds' journey, from his humble origins as the seventh child of the Reverend Samuel Reynolds in Devon, to the splendour and pomp of his funeral at St Paul's Cathedral in 1792. He examines in detail all aspects of his artistic and personal life, including his experimental history and 'fancy' paintings as well as his better-known work as a portrait painter, and explains his thinking about art history in the context of his life in eighteenth century England.of the Royal Academy by Ian McIntyre. McIntyre traces Joshua Reynolds' journey, from his humble origins as the seventh child of the Reverend Samuel Reynolds in Devon, to the splendour and pomp of his funeral at St Paul's Cathedral in 1792. He examines in detail all aspects of his artistic and personal life, including his experimental history and 'fancy' paintings as well as his better-known work as a portrait painter, and explains his thinking about art history in the context of his life in eighteenth century England.

Reynolds was a central figure in the development of British art, and in this biography McIntyre explores fully the nature and extent of his contribution.