Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers

Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers is an oil-on-canvas painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds undertaken between 1769 and 1770. The artwork depicts the two aristocrats Colonel John Dyke Acland (1746–1778; at right) and Lord Sydney (1732–1774), a diplomat. Reynolds began the work in 1769, and completed it the next year. In 1769 Reynolds had become the first president of the new Royal Academy. In September 2005, the Tate Gallery purchased the painting for more than £2.5 million, equivalent to US$4.4 million. The work portrays the two men holding each a bow, while the shotgun was the more popular choice of weapon at the time. These two bow-wielding men can be seen in the clearing of a forest. They are both garbed in archer clothing;...