Charles Turner after Sir Joshua Reynolds

Mr. Tomkins

10 x 14 inches (plate)

This charming study held great personal significance for Joshua Reynolds. The sitter, Thomas Tomkins (1743-1816) was a close friend of both Reynolds and Dr. Johnson. The portrait also happens to be the last painting that Reynolds exhibited before his death in 1792.

Thomas Tomkins was a celebrated calligrapher who taught the art of letter writing. He is shown depicted at his desk with a quill in his right hand and a parchment in his left.

Charles Turner was born in Oxford in 1773 but moved to London where he became a pupil at the schools of the Royal Academy. He was, without doubt, one of the most eminent and prolific mezzotint engravers of his day with subjects ranging from portraiture through to military, marine and sporting. He died in 1857.