James Boswell
- Artist: Sir Joshua Reynolds
- Date: 1785
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 30 in. x 25 in. (762 mm x 635 mm)
- Portrays: James Boswell
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “James Boswell.” The canvas shows him in a relaxed pose, the oil paint glistening softly across his face and hands. Notice the subtle light falling over his features—Reynolds’ brushwork gives the portrait an almost painterly texture that invites you to peer closer at the folds of his coat and the gentle curve of his chin.
Reynolds, the first president of the Royal Academy, painted this in 1785. He agreed to paint Boswell free of charge because they were friends; the work later appeared in the Academy’s 1787 exhibition before Reynolds presented it to Boswell himself in 1791.
Boswell was an Edinburgh solicitor who set out for London hoping to meet “men of genius.” In 1774 he met Samuel Johnson at a bookseller’s house, and their friendship inspired Boswell’s groundbreaking biography of Johnson. This portrait captures the man behind that landmark work.
See it in person
James Boswell is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
