Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) - Portrait Of Cavendish Child

Old annotation on the back, in ink: "Mr William Cavendish painted at the age of around two years by Sir Joshua Reynolds." A portrait of Cavendish as a child ("Portrait Of Master William Cavendish (1783-1812), Full-Length, Standing Astride a Black Dog, In a Landscape ”) was sold at Sotheby's in 2008. The written description and the portrait in question can be compared to the one we present. Son of Lord George Augustus Henry Cavendish and Lady Elizabeth Compton, William Cavendish has been painted many times by Joshua Reynolds. Here he was only two years old. According to Reynolds records (M. Cormack, "The Ledgers of Sir Joshua Reynolds," in Walpole Society, 1968-1970, vol. 42, p. 149.), daily appointments were scheduled for the making of portraits. of young Cavendish. Reynolds, as a portrait painter, painted those of the Dukes of Devonshire over several generations, who are part of the Cavendish family.