Laurence Sterne

Reynolds's portrait of Laurence Sterne from 1760, in the National Portrait Gallery, captures the author of Tristram Shandy at the height of the celebrity that his novel's publication earlier that year had suddenly thrust upon him. Sterne, a Yorkshire clergyman, had published the first two volumes of his digressive, self-reflexive novel in December 1759 and been immediately lionized by London literary society — his journey to London in the spring of 1760 was effectively a triumphal procession, and his portrait by Reynolds was part of his rapid transformation from obscure provincial author to metropolitan literary sensation. Reynolds's friendship with Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, and the leading writers and intellectuals of Georgian London made him the natural portraitist of literary fame, and his image of Sterne — caught in a characteristic moment of wry, alert observation — contributed to the mythologization of the author alongside the novel itself.

Reynolds renders Sterne with unusual informality, the slightly raised eyebrow and the quizzical half-smile suggesting the author's famous wit. The warm palette and the relatively simple composition focus attention on the expressive face, creating one of Reynolds's most psychologically engaging portraits.