Thomas Gainsborough Painting Reproductions 9 of 10
1727-1788
English Rococo Painter
Thomas Gainsborough (May 14, 1727 (baptised) - August 2, 1788) was one of the most famous portrait and landscape painters of 18th century Britain.
Gainsborough was born in 1727 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. His father was a schoolteacher involved with the wool trade. At the age of fourteen he impressed his father with his pencilling skills so that he let him go to London to study art in 1740. In London he first trained under engraver Hubert Gravelot but eventually became associated with William Hogarth and his school. One of his mentors was Francis Hayman. In those years he contributed to the decoration of what is now the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children and the supper boxes at Vauxhall Gardens.
In the 1740s, Gainsborough married Margaret Burr whose illegitimate father, The Duke of Beaufort, gave them a £200 annuity. His work, which was mainly composed of landscape paintings, was not selling very well. He returned to Sudbury in 1748-1749 and concentrated on the painting of portraits.
In 1752, he and family, now including two daughters, moved to Ipswich. Commissions for personal portraits increased but his clientele included mainly local merchants and squires. He had to borrow against his wife's annuity.
In 1759, Gainsborough and his family moved to Bath. There he studied portraits by van Dyck and was eventually able to attract better-paying high society clientele. In 1761 he began to send work to the Society of Arts exhibition in London (now the Royal Society of Arts, of which he was one of the earliest members) and from 1769 to the Royal Academy's annual exhibitions. He selected portraits of known or notorious clients to attract attention. Exhibitions helped him to gain a national reputation and he was invited to become one of the founding members of Royal Academy in 1769. His relationship with the academy, however, was not an easy one and he stopped exhibiting his paintings there in 1773.
In 1774, Gainsborough and his family moved to London to live in Schomberg House, Pall Mall. In 1777 he again began to exhibit his paintings in the Royal Academy, with portraits of contemporary celebrities, including the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, related to the royal family. These exhibitions continued for the next six years.
In 1780, he painted the portraits of King George III and his queen and afterwards received many royal commissions. This gave him some influence with the Academy to state in what form he wished his work to be exhibited. However, in 1783 he took his paintings from the forthcoming exhibition and moved them to Schomberg House. In 1784, royal painter Allan Ramsay died and the King was obliged to give the job to Gainsborough's rival and Academy president, Joshua Reynolds. Gainsborough still remained the favourite painter of the Royal Family.
In his later years, he often painted landscapes of common settings. With Richard Wilson, he was one of the originators of the eighteenth-century British landscape school, and with Joshua Reynolds, he was the dominant British portraitist of the second half of the 18th century.
Gainsborough painted more from his observations of nature than from any application of formal rules. The poetic sensibility of his paintings caused Constable to say, "On looking at them, we find tears in our eyes and know not what brings them." He himself said, "I'm sick of portraits, and wish very much to take my viol-da-gam and walk off to some sweet village, where I can paint landskips (sic) and enjoy the fag end of life in quietness and ease."
His best works, such as Portrait of Mrs. Graham; Mary and Margaret: The Painter's Daughters; William Hallett and His Wife Elizabeth, nee Stephen, known as The Morning Walk; and Cottage Girl with Dog and Pitcher, display the uniqueness (individuality) of his subjects. His only assistant was his nephew Gainsborough Dupont.
Gainsborough died of cancer on 2 August 1788 in his 62nd year.
Gainsborough was born in 1727 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. His father was a schoolteacher involved with the wool trade. At the age of fourteen he impressed his father with his pencilling skills so that he let him go to London to study art in 1740. In London he first trained under engraver Hubert Gravelot but eventually became associated with William Hogarth and his school. One of his mentors was Francis Hayman. In those years he contributed to the decoration of what is now the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children and the supper boxes at Vauxhall Gardens.
In the 1740s, Gainsborough married Margaret Burr whose illegitimate father, The Duke of Beaufort, gave them a £200 annuity. His work, which was mainly composed of landscape paintings, was not selling very well. He returned to Sudbury in 1748-1749 and concentrated on the painting of portraits.
In 1752, he and family, now including two daughters, moved to Ipswich. Commissions for personal portraits increased but his clientele included mainly local merchants and squires. He had to borrow against his wife's annuity.
In 1759, Gainsborough and his family moved to Bath. There he studied portraits by van Dyck and was eventually able to attract better-paying high society clientele. In 1761 he began to send work to the Society of Arts exhibition in London (now the Royal Society of Arts, of which he was one of the earliest members) and from 1769 to the Royal Academy's annual exhibitions. He selected portraits of known or notorious clients to attract attention. Exhibitions helped him to gain a national reputation and he was invited to become one of the founding members of Royal Academy in 1769. His relationship with the academy, however, was not an easy one and he stopped exhibiting his paintings there in 1773.
In 1774, Gainsborough and his family moved to London to live in Schomberg House, Pall Mall. In 1777 he again began to exhibit his paintings in the Royal Academy, with portraits of contemporary celebrities, including the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, related to the royal family. These exhibitions continued for the next six years.
In 1780, he painted the portraits of King George III and his queen and afterwards received many royal commissions. This gave him some influence with the Academy to state in what form he wished his work to be exhibited. However, in 1783 he took his paintings from the forthcoming exhibition and moved them to Schomberg House. In 1784, royal painter Allan Ramsay died and the King was obliged to give the job to Gainsborough's rival and Academy president, Joshua Reynolds. Gainsborough still remained the favourite painter of the Royal Family.
In his later years, he often painted landscapes of common settings. With Richard Wilson, he was one of the originators of the eighteenth-century British landscape school, and with Joshua Reynolds, he was the dominant British portraitist of the second half of the 18th century.
Gainsborough painted more from his observations of nature than from any application of formal rules. The poetic sensibility of his paintings caused Constable to say, "On looking at them, we find tears in our eyes and know not what brings them." He himself said, "I'm sick of portraits, and wish very much to take my viol-da-gam and walk off to some sweet village, where I can paint landskips (sic) and enjoy the fag end of life in quietness and ease."
His best works, such as Portrait of Mrs. Graham; Mary and Margaret: The Painter's Daughters; William Hallett and His Wife Elizabeth, nee Stephen, known as The Morning Walk; and Cottage Girl with Dog and Pitcher, display the uniqueness (individuality) of his subjects. His only assistant was his nephew Gainsborough Dupont.
Gainsborough died of cancer on 2 August 1788 in his 62nd year.
228 Gainsborough Paintings
Henry, Duke of Cumberland c.1773/77
Oil Painting
$1825
$1825
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9973
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 240.3 x 143 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 240.3 x 143 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Princess Sophia 1782
Oil Painting
$1128
$1128
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9974
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 56.5 x 42.2 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 56.5 x 42.2 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Queen Charlotte 1782
Oil Painting
$1176
$1176
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9975
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59.7 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59.7 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Johann Christian Fischer c.1774
Oil Painting
$2232
$2232
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9976
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 229 x 150.8 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 229 x 150.8 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Princess Elizabeth 1782
Oil Painting
$1157
$1157
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9977
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59.4 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59.4 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Prince Ernest, later Duke of Cumberland 1782
Oil Painting
$1108
$1108
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9978
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Prince Augustus, later Duke of Sussex 1782
Oil Painting
$1144
$1144
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9979
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59.4 x 43.5 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59.4 x 43.5 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Anne, Duchess of Cumberland 1783
Oil Painting
$1313
$1313
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9980
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 127.6 x 101.9 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 127.6 x 101.9 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Richard Hurd, Bishop of Worcester c.1783
Oil Painting
$1361
$1361
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9981
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 75.2 x 62.5 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 75.2 x 62.5 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Prince Octavius 1782
Oil Painting
$1144
$1144
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9982
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 56.8 x 42.2 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 56.8 x 42.2 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Prince Adolphus, later Duke of Cambridge 1782
Oil Painting
$1129
$1129
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9983
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59.4 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59.4 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Princess Mary 1782
Oil Painting
$1126
$1126
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9984
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 59 x 44.1 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
The Three Eldest Princesses: Charlotte, Princess ... 1784
Oil Painting
$2714
$2714
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9985
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 129.5 x 179.7 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 129.5 x 179.7 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
John Hayes St Leger 1782
Oil Painting
$1896
$1896
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-9986
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 249.6 x 189 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 249.6 x 189 cm
The Royal Collection, London, United Kingdom
Mrs. George Oswald c.1770/74
Oil Painting
$1206
$1206
Canvas Print
$63.95
$63.95
SKU: GAT-16469
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 75 x 62.2 cm
Public Collection
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 75 x 62.2 cm
Public Collection
The Blue Boy c.1770
Oil Painting
$1573
$1573
SKU: GAT-16785
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 178 x 122 cm
Huntington Library and Art Gallery, California, USA
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 178 x 122 cm
Huntington Library and Art Gallery, California, USA
The Honourable Mrs Graham c.1775/77
Oil Painting
$2207
$2207
Canvas Print
$50.89
$50.89
SKU: GAT-17292
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 237 x 154 cm
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 237 x 154 cm
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Clayton Jones c.1744/45
Oil Painting
$1136
$1136
Canvas Print
$64.24
$64.24
SKU: GAT-17534
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 76.2 x 63.5 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 76.2 x 63.5 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Major John Dade of Tannington, Suffolk c.1755
Oil Painting
$1334
$1334
Canvas Print
$63.39
$63.39
SKU: GAT-17535
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 76.2 x 64.8 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 76.2 x 64.8 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Wooded Landscape with a Cottage and Shepherd c.1748/50
Oil Painting
$1048
$1048
Canvas Print
$59.81
$59.81
SKU: GAT-17536
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 43.2 x 54.3 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 43.2 x 54.3 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Coastal Landscape with a Shepherd and His Flock c.1783/84
Oil Painting
$1082
$1082
Canvas Print
$63.95
$63.95
SKU: GAT-17537
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 63.5 x 76.2 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 63.5 x 76.2 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Girl with a Book Seated in a Park c.1750
Oil Painting
$1259
$1259
Canvas Print
$67.32
$67.32
SKU: GAT-17538
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 76 x 66.7 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 76 x 66.7 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Landscape with Stream and Weir c.1750/53
Oil Painting
$1405
$1405
Canvas Print
$66.06
$66.06
SKU: GAT-17539
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 80 x 94.6 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 80 x 94.6 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Mary Little, later Lady Carr c.1765
Oil Painting
$1580
$1580
Canvas Print
$61.43
$61.43
SKU: GAT-17540
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 127 x 101.6 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Thomas Gainsborough
Original Size: 127 x 101.6 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA