Joshua Reynolds

West and Kauffman were co-founders with Reynolds of the Royal Academy of Arts, Reynolds becoming its first president. Johnson, Goldsmith and Garrick were among his close circle of friends and members of the Literary Club (a.k.a. Turk’s Head Club) that he founded; Boswell and Sheridan were among its other members. Reynolds encouraged Fuseli, who had been working as a translator, to dedicate himself to painting. Although the truth is not known, rumours of a romantic liaison with Kauffman are probably unfounded. Montagu left him a gold ring engraved with their names.