GAINSBOROUGH, THOMAS

(baptized May 14, 1727, Sudbury, Suffolk, Eng.d. Aug. 2, 1788, London), portrait and landscape painter, the most versatile English painter of the 18th century. Some of his early portraits show the sitters grouped in a landscape (Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, c. 1750). As he became famous and his sitters fashionable, he adopted a more formal manner that owed something to Anthony Van Dyck (The Blue Boy, c. 1770). His landscapes are of idyllic scenes. During his last years he also painted seascapes and idealized full-size pictures of rustics and country children. Additional reading William T. Whitley, Thomas Gainsborough (1915), and Isabelle Worman, Thomas Gainsborough: A Biography (1976), are definitive biographies; Ellis Waterhouse, Gainsborough (1958), the most complete catalog of the paintings, fully illustrated with an important critical introductory essay; Mary Woodall (ed.), The Letters of Thomas Gainsborough, rev. ed. (1963); John Hayes, The Drawings of Thomas Gainsborough, 2 vol. (1970), the definitive work on the drawings with a catalog of 900 items, 462 illustrations, and a full up-to-date bibliography of Gainsborough literature. Major Works: Paintings. Portraits: Lady and Gentleman in Landscape (1746; Louvre, Paris); Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (c. 1750; National Gallery, London); Heneage Lloyd and His Sister (c. 1750; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire); Mr. William Woollaston (late 1750s; Christchurch Mansion Museum, Ipswich, Suffolk); Painter's Daughters Chasing a Butterfly (c. 1758; National Gallery, London); Ann Ford, Mrs. Philip Thicknesse (1760; Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio); Maria, Duchess of Gloucester (early 1760s; Los Angeles County Museum); Gertrude, Lady Alston (mid-1760s; Louvre); John, 4th Duke of Argyll (1767; Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh); Hon. Thomas Needham (1768; Ascott House, Berkshire); John, 10th Viscount Kilmorey (c. 1768; Tate Gallery, London); Augustus John, Third Earl of Bristol (1768; National Trust, Ickworth, Suffolk); Isabella, Countess of Sefton (1769; Croxteth Hall, Lancashire); The Blue Boy (c. 1770; Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino, Calif.); Penelope, Viscountess Ligonier (1771; Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery); Dr. Ralph Schomberg (177172; National Gallery, London); The Linley SistersMrs. Sheridan and Mrs. Tickell ( c. 1772; Dulwich College Picture Gallery, Dulwich); William Henry, Duke of Gloucester (c. 1775; Chewton Manor, North Somerset, Somerset); Mrs. Graham (c. 1777; National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh); C. F. Abel (1777; Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery); Johann Christian Fischer (1780; Buckingham Palace, London); Mrs. Robinson, popularly nicknamed Perdita (1781; Wallace Collection, London); Queen Charlotte (1781; Windsor Castle); Lord Rodney (1783; Earl of Rosebery Collection, Dalmeny, West Lothian); Mrs. Siddons (c. 1783; National Gallery, London); Three Eldest Princesses, also called Princess Charlotte and Her Two Sisters (1784, painted for the Royal Academy but not exhibited; Buckingham Palace); Mrs. Sheridan (c. 1785; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.); Lady Bate Dudley (1787; Lord Burton Collection, Needwood House, Derbyshire).Landscapes and fancy pictures: The Charterhouse (1748; Foundling Hospital, London); Cornard Wood, popularly nicknamed Gainsborough's Forest (1748; National Gallery, London); The Woodcutter Courting a Milkmaid (1753; Duke of Bedford Collection, Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire); Peasants Returning from Market (c. 1767; Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio); The Harvest Wagon (c. 1770; Barber Institute, Birmingham, Eng.); The Watering Place (1777; National Gallery, London); The Cottage Door (c. 1780; Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery); The Mall in St. James' Park (1783; Frick Collection, New York City); The Morning Walk (1785; National Gallery, London); The Cottage with Dog and Pitcher (1785; Sir Alfred Beit Collection, Russborough, Co. Wicklow, Ire.); The Cottage Girl with a Bowl of Milk (1786; South African National Gallery, Cape Town); The Market Cart (1786; Tate Gallery); The Wood Gatherers, also known as Cottage Children (1787; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City); Boy with a Cat-Morning (1787; Metropolitan Museum of Art).