Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Joshua Reynolds played a key role in the formation of art education in Britain. As the founding President of the Royal Academy in London, he greatly improved the status of art and artists in the 18th century. The leading portrait painter of the time, it was a sign of status to be painted by Reynolds. Many of his sitters are the architects of the British Empire. The legacy of Reynolds' work is therefore complex as it entwined with the histories of imperialism and transatlantic slavery.