File:Portrait of a Naval Lieutenant, 1749 RMG BHC3114.jpg

A three-quarter-length portrait to right in lieutenant's undress uniform, 1748-67, with a gold-laced hat. The sitter wears his own hair and has a telescope in his right hand and crooked in his arm. He stands against a background of rock and foliage and in the right distance is a two-decker. The portrait was probably painted at Port Mahon in 1749, where Reynolds painted portraits of the British garrison.

In January 1750 Reynolds set off for Italy, where he stayed for two years to travel and study. Reynolds had been apprenticed to the portrait painter Thomas Hudson (1701-90). In 1753 he set up in London and rapidly made a name as a portrait painter, profoundly influenced by his time in Italy. He borrowed poses from the old masters and by 1759 had created social portraits in a new style that were deemed fresh and modern, and yet dignified the status of the sitter. He became the first President of the Royal Academy in 1768 and was knighted the following year. Reynolds was the leading portrait painter of his day and the most influential figure of the century in elevating the status of British painting and portraiture.