Portrait of Lady Mary Leslie

Reynolds painted Lady Mary Leslie around 1758, a portrait from his early mature period shortly after his return from Italy. The painting shows Reynolds developing the elegant compositional formulas and warm palette that would characterize his mature style and establish him as the dominant force in British portraiture for four decades. Reynolds's ability to invest his sitters with both natural grace and classical dignity set a standard that his successors, including Lawrence, would aspire to match. The portrait represents the aristocratic commissions that built Reynolds's reputation in the late 1750s.

The portrait is rendered with Grand Manner composition that characterizes Joshua Reynolds's best work. Oil on canvas provides a rich ground for the subtle gradations of flesh tone and the textural contrasts between skin, fabric, and background that give the image its convincing presence.