FOLLOWER OF SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. | MRS. BILLINGTON AS SAINT CECILIA, SURROUNDED BY SINGING PUTTI

This work is a high-quality replica based on Joshua Reynolds's larger Portrait of Mrs Billington in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick.¹ The sitter of this portrait was a celebrated singer and actress in Europe known as Elizabeth Weichsel until she married John Billington, a double bass player, in 1783. She is depicted here as Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music.

1. Oil on canvas, 239.7 by 148 cm. See D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds. A complete Catalogue of his Paintings, plates, New haven and London 2000, reproduced p. 575, fig. 1557.