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Thomas Gainsborough, 'Mr and Mrs Andrews', about 1750

About the work

Overview

This portrait of Mr Robert (1725–1806) and Mrs Frances Andrews (about 1732–1780) is the masterpiece of Gainsborough’s early career. It has been described as a ‘triple portrait’ – of Robert Andrews, his wife and his land.

Behind Mr and Mrs Andrews is a wide view looking south over the valley of the River Stour. Robert Andrews owned nearly 3000 acres and much of the land we see here belonged to him. Gainsborough has displayed his skills as a painter of convincingly changing weather and naturalistic scenery, which was still a novelty at this time.

The unpainted patch on Mrs Andrews’s lap may have been reserved to later paint a baby. Surrounded by the beauty of the woods and clouds of the Essex countryside, self-consciously posing beside their fertile harvest field and well-stocked pastures, Mr and Mrs Andrews live on in a moving evocation of themselves at home in their own landscape.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Mr and Mrs Andrews
Artist dates
1727 - 1788
Date made
about 1750
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
69.8 × 119.4 cm
Acquisition credit
Bought with contributions from The Pilgrim Trust, the Art Fund, Associated Television Ltd, and Mr and Mrs W. W. Spooner, 1960
Inventory number
NG6301
Location
Room 34
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
18th-century English Frame (original frame)

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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