Miss Ridge

Reynolds painted Miss Ridge in 1773, a female portrait from the period when he had reached the height of his technical command and commercial success. Reynolds's Leicester Square studio at this date saw a constant stream of society clients, and his appointment book was reportedly filled months in advance. He charged forty guineas for a head, one hundred for a half-length, and two hundred for a full-length — fees that reflected his unique status as both the leading portraitist in England and the president of its newly founded Royal Academy. The female portraits of the early 1770s represent Reynolds at his most consistently accomplished in this genre: the softened chiaroscuro, the warm palette built up in transparent glazes, and the psychologically present gaze that distinguished his sitters from the more mechanical output of lesser portraitists. Reynolds's chief rival in female portraiture was Gainsborough, who at this period was also in London and attracting substantial patronage with his own, very different approach — airier, more dissolved in tone, less reliant on classical precedent. The Cincinnati Art Museum's portrait of Miss Ridge entered an American collection during the period when British portraiture commanded strong prices in the transatlantic market.

The portrait presents the sitter with Reynolds's characteristic warm tones and elegant composition. His handling of fabrics and features creates an image of refined femininity.