Portrait by John Powell, Associate of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792)

Oil on canvas

11.25” x 9.5” unframed

14.25” x 16” framed

Verso:

? and Signed, John Powell, 1779- (Pupil and assistant of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A.) With a later handwritten note:

John Copley from the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds.

This charming portrait is believed to be of John Copley.  Painted by English artist John Powell who was an assistant to Sir Josuah Reynolds.

Powell’s work in Reynolds’ studio spanned from approximately 1769 to 1785. During this time, he assisted with various aspects of Reynolds’s studio, including potentially making copies of paintings or assisting with the practicalities of running the workshop. The Lydiard Archives mentions Powell as being commissioned to copy a portrait of Lady Diana Beauclerk (1734-1808) that Sir Joshua Reynolds painted of her between 1763 and 1765, which hangs at Kenwood House. It depicts Lady Diana as a classical artist, with a pencil in her right hand and an album of drawings in her left. This is a great example of Powell demonstrating his role in creating replicas of Reynolds’s work.