This picture purportedly by the C18th artist Sir Joshua Reynolds, was up for auction last weekend. I was keen to bid, but my enthusiasm waned when it became difficult to find compelling evidence that this was indeed a genuine Reynolds. The style is different from many of Reynolds's, but he was a prolific portraitist, and unfortunately there was a "school of". My bid, had I made one would have been conservative, and as it turns out, it would have been eclipsed by the successful bidder.
Even if it is a "school of" Reynolds, the price paid is probably justified, but then I used that other criteria: did I really like it? And here the work fell short. The rendering is pleasant enough, but not overwhelmingly so, and the "clenched" teeth effect finally sealed the fate of Miss Norcliff.
My experience reminded me of a recent article I read about Philip Mould, and his joy at finding a Gainsborough.
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