1759–1774
Bath: Van Dyck and Rubens in the houses of the local aristocracy
Of great importance to Gainsborough is his acquaintance with paintings by Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens owned by local aristocrats; he copies some of them. The study of the old masters is linked to the appearance in his landscapes of luminous distances that he had not been able to achieve before.
1773
Stops exhibiting at the Academy
From 1769 Gainsborough submits works to the Royal Academy's annual exhibitions, but his relationship with the Academy is not an easy one, and in 1773 he stops exhibiting.
1774
The move to London: Schomberg House
In 1774 Gainsborough and his family move to London, to live in Schomberg House on Pall Mall.
1774–1788
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.
1777
Back at the Academy exhibition: “The Watering Place”
In 1777, after a long break, Gainsborough again takes part in the Academy's exhibition, showing “The Watering Place” — his answer to Rubens's “Watering Place”. In the following years he keeps painting landscapes, and even two seascapes appear, one with a calm and one with a stormy sea.
c. 1777
Experiments with aquatint and etching
About this time Gainsborough begins experimenting with printmaking in the then-novel techniques of aquatint and soft-ground etching.