These works were succeeded by single satirical compositions, such as The Distressed Poet and The Sleeping Congregation. The Midnight Con versation contained many portraits, and is by some esteemed the most remarkable example of the genius of Hogarth. The painting called The Strolling Actresses is in our opinion the most agreeable composition exe cuted by Hogarth, if one may form an opinion from an engraving. This painting was destroyed by fire in 1874. One of the most absurdly humor ous pieces by this painter is The March of the Guards to Finchley. A celebrated series is the Marriage h la Mode, consisting of six paintings, now in the National Gallery at London. As the title suggests, it repre sents vice in high life. Gambling on a Tomb (pl. 38, fig. is one of the series of Industry and Idleness. The last important work of Hogarth was the composition entitled Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism, published in 1764. On the 26th of October of the same year this illus trious artist suddenly expired: he was buried in Chiswick churchyard, not far from the country home he had recently purchased. Hogarth had been a laborious painter, but, unlike many who toil without reaping the results in this world, he won a competence and enjoyed a great renown while in his prime.
Allan excellent portrait-painter of this period was Allan Ramsay, son of the poet of the same name. He was born at Edinburgh in 1713, or, as stated by some authorities, in 1709, and died at Dover in 174 Ile studied both in England and in Italy, but his art-life was passed in London, where in 1767 he was appointed painter to George III., of which sovereign he executed several excellent portraits. Ramsay was noted for his faithful portraiture as well as for his accomplishments in other fields of art. George Smith (1714-1776) of Chichester and William Smith (1707-1764) of Derby were also well-known portrait-painters of the Middle part of the eighteenth century.
Joshua distinguished artist, the greatest of Eng land's portrait-painters, and one of the foremost ill the history of art, was the son of a clergyman of Plympton, and was born in 1723. At an early age he displayed signs of a genius for art, but the seclusion of a provincial town offered few advantages to a youth of his remarkable powers, and he was therefore sent to London by his parents and placed tinder the tuition of Thomas Hudson, \vim has already been mentioned. Reynolds was at this time seventeen years of age. After two years a disagreement arose between master and pupil, and Reynolds spent the following three years at home. He then passed a year at Plymouth. His stay at that place proved of lasting advantage to him, as it procured him the friendship of Admiral Keppel, who invited the young artist to accompany him on a cruise to the Mediterranean. The great works of
the foreign schools were not then so numerous in England as they are now, and the visit to Italy of an artist like Reynolds was an invaluable advantage to the rising school of Great Britain.
Reynolds visited Rome and other cities of Italy, and was deeply im pressed by what he saw. His natural tastes were shown by his preferences in the works of continental art. The productions of Michelangelo and the wonderful compositions of Raphael impressed him less than the portraits of the Italian school and the color of Titian and Veronese. At a later day Reynolds said that one could do anything he chose by study, appli cation, and determination; but his subsequent career disproved this extraordinary assertion, indicating that even great talent has its limita tions. Portraiture and color were shown at this early age to be the points to which he naturally turned, and all the efforts of his maturer experience failed to give him the imaginative grasp which marks the artists of the highest rank.
After an absence of three years Reynolds returned to England and opened a studio in St. Martin's Lane, London. The severe experiences which attend the career of so many artists, whether they eventually suc ceed or fail, were not destined for Reynolds; from the outset he was the favorite of Fortune. It was not long before he formed a lifelong friend ship with tile celebrated Samuel Johnson, and also moved into a handsome mansion, where he lived in opulence. In 1761 growing wealth led Rey nolds to 1110Ve to a grand house in Leicester Square furnished with elegance and containing a spacious dining-room, where for many years the leaders in thought, fashion, and polities were wont to gather. On the four panels of the gilded coach of this successful painter were represented the Four Seasons. The prominent artists of our time are scarcely able to equal the splendor of the leading painter of England in the last century.
The Royal Academy was founded in r768. Reynolds, being of a timid or conservative temperament, hesitated to enter into the new enterprise— a circumstance difficult to understand in our time, when art-institutions spring up in every quarter. It was with great difficulty that he was induced to attend the first meeting of the new organization. When he entered the hall, the members rose with one accord and saluted him: " President !" But even then he declined the compliment until he had consulted with his intimate friends Johnson and Burke. The king testi fied his love for national art and his respect for Reynolds by bestowing the honor of knighthood on the first president of the Royal Academy.