Biography

Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk on May 14, 1727. He showed early on his interest and inclination to art that when he was only 15 years old he studies etching with the French engraver Hubert Gravelot. He later studied painting with Francis Hayman who was known for paintings of historic events and was mentored by the French painter Antoine Watteau.

After the birth of his two daughters he moved to Ipswich from 1745 till 1760 in hopes of earning more money for commissions on portraits. He developed a more natural approach to portrait painting, abandoning ‘conversation pieces’ and doing a couple of straight forward head and shoulder portraits. From there he moved to Bath in 1760 and after only six months he was sure that there was a stable market for his artwork that was much to his liking that he stayed there till 1774. Bath was a popular health resort at the time and was the site for many of his portraits and landscapes.