Thomas Gainsborough

Alongside Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough was the leading painter of the 18th century British School, remembered for his bravura portraits and lyrical landscapes. Born in Suffolk and trained in London, by 1752 he had established his first portrait studio in Ipswich. Whilst his early work was modest in scale, he began to paint freely-handled, full-length portraits following his move to fashionable Bath in 1759. His growing ambition continued after relocating to London in 1774, whereupon he became a favourite of King George III and the Royal Family. A founding member of the Royal Academy, his rivalry with its president Joshua Reynolds would shape the English art scene. Unlike Reynolds, Gainsborough avoided grandiose historical allusions within his paintings, preferring to dress his sitters in the latest contemporary fashions. Whilst his deft and fluid brushwork would influence countless later portrait painters, he is also considered the father of the British landscape school. Gainsborough said of himself, “he painted portraits for money, and landscapes because he loved them.”