Benjamin Vandergucht

All that is known of the sitters is that they were two of the eleven children of Benjamin Vandergucht (1753-1794). Descended from a family of engravers, Vandergucht was one of the first five students to enroll in the Royal Academy Schools. He exhibited paintings at the Academy until 1786, the year in which the present portrait appeared there. He was better known for his thriving practice as a picture dealer and restorer, operating a purpose-built gallery in his house on Upper Brook Street. He and Reynolds occasionally conferred about works of art until a quarrel alienated them shortly after the exhibition of this picture.