Thomas GainsboroughBritish, 1727–1788Drawing
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Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
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- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Although Thomas Gainsborough drew with graphite in his early career, according to his daughter he later abandoned it for chalk because with the pencil ‘He could not with sufficient expedition make out his effects’. The soft, responsive quality of chalk allowed him rapidly to lay in areas of dark and light tone, then to smudge areas for an atmospheric effect either with a ‘stump’ (a tightly-rolled tool of paper with a rounded end) or with his fingers.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- DYCE.671
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Meanwhile, in the life of Thomas Gainsborough
The whole life1774–1788
The rivalry with Reynolds
In London Gainsborough sets up his studio next to Christie's auction rooms, which he often visits. His London years are marked by rivalry with Joshua Reynolds, president of the Royal Academy.
February 1780
His daughter Molly marries Johann Fischer
In February 1780 his daughter Molly marries the musician Johann Christian Fischer, a friend of the painter, to Gainsborough's dismay: he has realised that Fischer is forming an attachment to Molly while flirting with Peggy. The marriage lasts only eight months, because of their discord and Fischer's deceit.
1783
The Lake District with his friend Sam Kilderbee
In 1783 Gainsborough travels with his friend Sam Kilderbee through the Lake District in north-west England.
1784
A quarrel with the Academy over the hanging
In 1784 Gainsborough is displeased with the way his pictures are hung at the Academy's exhibition and asks for them to be rehung lower; he is told that this goes against the general rule and harms the interests of other artists. He takes his pictures away and never again takes part in the Academy's exhibitions, holding exhibitions at his own house instead.
1784
The first private exhibition at Schomberg House
In 1784 Gainsborough holds his first private exhibition at Schomberg House. Among the works shown is the portrait of Frances Browne, Mrs John Douglas, reading a letter in a secluded, overgrown corner of a garden: the silvery violet tones of the clouds and the drapery tie the sitter to her surroundings.
2 August 1788
Died
