The Club or Literary Club is a London dining club founded in February 1764 by the artist Joshua Reynolds and essayist Samuel Johnson.
Plaque marking the foundation of the Club
Sir Joshua Reynolds was an English painter who specialised in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting, which depended on idealisation of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts and was knighted by George III in 1769.
Self-portrait, c. 1750
Self-portrait, aged about 24
Old Grammar School, Plympton, founded 1658, built 1664, attended by Joshua Reynolds whose father was headmaster
Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus (1788)