Identity:

J. L. Fox was a collector.

Life:

Fox apparently owned a painting by Joshua Reynolds of the actor and theatre manager David Garrick, which was hung at 1 Addison Road [#07621]. This painting was possibly a replica of Reynolds' David Garrick As Kitely, in which Garrick is shown 'leaning on his right arm, his left hand visible beneath a cloak dressed in Vandyke costume'. This replica had been exhibited in Manchester in 1857 (cat. no. 286), lent by Col. (later General) Fox. Fox put it up for auction at Christies in London on 27 June 1863 (lot 62, bought in at £89.5.0), and again on 4 July 1874 (lot 21, bought by Henry Graves and Co. for £77.14.0).

Bibliography:

Graves, A., and William Vine Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 3 vols, London, 1899, vol. 1, p. 350.