Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (July 16, 1723 – February 23, 1792) is an influential eighteenth-century English painter, specializing in portraits.

According to John Russell, he is one of the major European painters of the eighteenth Century.

He promotes the "Grand Style" in painting, which depends on idealization of the imperfect.

He is a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and is knighted by George III in 1769.