The exhibition brings together a selection of the greatest portraits by Reynolds, many of them depicting the most famous men and women of the eighteenth century, such as the writer Samuel Johnson, the actress Mrs Siddons, the political philosopher Edmund Burke and the actor David Garrick, as well as courtesans, aristocrats and military leaders. Collectively, they represent the cream of British society of the era.
The highlight of this exhibition is perhaps Reynolds's celebrated portrait of Omai. Omai was a young Polynesian man who came to England with Captain Cook and became a sensation in aristocratic and intellectual circles.
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