Hugh Belsey Knihy

This new study on Thomas Gainsborough concentrates on the early life and works of the great eighteenth-century artist. Gainsborough’s talent was evident at a young age, and before he established himself as one of London’s leading portrait artists he was able to indulge himself in his true passion, landscapes, as well as providing portraits for a provincial clientele. Graced with the light and gentle shadows of the English countryside, these early works provided the foundation for much of Gainsborough’s later work. But many of them, including the renowned Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, and His Daughters Chasing a Butterfly, can be called masterpieces in their own right. It was in Suffolk that the artist developed a naturalistic approach to portraiture by abandoning "conversation pieces" and painting instead a number of straightforward head-and-shoulder portraits. This lively and accessible volume features eighty color and black-and-white reproductions of Gainsborough’s paintings, etchings, and drawings. They not only shed light on the development of one of England’s most revered painters, but also offer an intimate look at the work of a young painter in the thrall of his subjects, and just beginning to realize his full talents.

This comprehensive two-volume catalogue raisonn of Thomas Gainsborough's portraits features around 1,100 paintings, including nearly 200 newly attributed works. Each entry provides detailed biographies of the sitters, provenance, and exhibition history, with several sitters newly identified. It also documents Gainsborough's copies of Old Master works, showcasing his admiration and stylistic assimilation. Extensive research, including newspaper archives, offers insights into the timeline of each painting, the evolution of Gainsborough's style, and the impact of his work within its historical context.