George Romney moved to London from his native Lancashire in 1762, visited Paris briefly in 1764 and afterwards worked in Italy for several years. On his return to Britain he became one of London's most fashionable portrait painters, competing with Reynolds and Gainsborough. Romney is reckoned to have painted over 2,000 protraits while he had his studio in Cavindish Square. However his portraits are more honest and less 'stagey' than those of his rivals with works like the Portrait Group as appealing today as when they were first painted.