George III (1738-1820) when Prince of Wales

Reynolds painted George III as Prince of Wales around 1758, before the young prince had ascended the throne that he would occupy for sixty years and during the period when his education and personality were being shaped by his mother Augusta and her adviser Lord Bute. The future king would have a complex relationship with the artistic institutions that Reynolds built: George III supported the founding of the Royal Academy in 1768 with patronage and premises, but his personal taste in painting ran toward Dutch and Flemish masters rather than the Italian Grand Manner that Reynolds championed. Reynolds painted the royal family on several occasions, though he was never appointed Principal Painter to the Crown — a role that went to Allan Ramsay and subsequently to Benjamin West. The Royal Collection's holding of this early portrait of the future king documents an important historical relationship between Britain's most celebrated painter and its longest-reigning monarch, a relationship marked by mutual respect and occasional misalignment of aesthetic preference.

Oil on canvas, the portrait demonstrates Joshua Reynolds's command of warm chiaroscuro and classical references in poses. The careful modeling of the face reveals close study of the sitter's physiognomy, while the treatment of costume and setting projects appropriate social standing.