An Unknown Woman

1748

His father dies; back to Sudbury

Gainsborough's father, John, dies in 1748. With no new commissions coming in London, the painter returns to Sudbury, to the house of his childhood.

c. 1749

Landscapes do not pay: a turn to portraiture

Gainsborough has always thought of himself as a landscape painter, but landscapes bring no income: in the England of the day they count as a “low genre”. Around 1749 he unites portrait and landscape in one composition for the first time, in “Mr and Mrs Andrews”.

31 Ocak 1750

Daughter born: Mary Gainsborough Fischer

1751

Daughter born: Margaret Gainsborough

1752

The move to Ipswich

In 1752 Gainsborough, his wife and their two daughters, Mary (“Molly”) and Margaret (“Peggy”), move to Ipswich. Portrait commissions increase, but his clients are mostly local merchants and squires, and he has to borrow against his wife's annuity of £200, which the Duke of Beaufort had settled on her.

c. 1752 – 1759

The Ipswich Music Club

In Ipswich Gainsborough becomes a member of the Music Club, where he meets fellow music lovers and professional musicians; later he will paint portraits of some of them, and a group portrait of the club's members.