Mrs. Grace Dalrymple Elliott (1754?–1823)

About this artwork

This magnificent portrait represents one of Thomas Gainsborough's most accomplished achievements in capturing both physical beauty and social presence. Painted in 1778 and exhibited that year at the Royal Academy, the work depicts Grace Dalrymple Elliott, a Scottish beauty known as 'Dally the Tall' for her striking height and legendary attractiveness. The portrait was almost certainly commissioned by George James Cholmondeley, later Earl of Cholmondeley, with whom Elliott maintained a liaison an...

Art Historical Context

Step into the elegant world of 18th-century Britain with Thomas Gainsborough's stunning 1778 portrait of Mrs. Grace Dalrymple Elliott, towering full-length oil on canvas measuring over seven feet tall. Captured at the height of her fame as "Dally the," the Scottish beauty's poised figure exudes aristocratic grace, her luxurious gown shimmering under Gainsborough's masterful touch. Exhibited that year at the Royal Academy and likely commissioned by her lover, George James Cholmondeley ( Earl of Cholmondeley), the painting remained in his family for over a century before entering the Metropolita...

About the Artist

Thomas Gainsborough · 1727–1788

Thomas Gainsborough was born on 14 May 1727 in Sudbury, Suffolk, the youngest of nine children to wool dealer John Gainsborough and his wife Mary. Demonstrating prodigious talent from childhood, he sketched landscapes in the local woods and fields, fostering his lifelong passion for the genre. At age thirteen, he moved to London, where he trained under the French engraver and illustrator Hubert-Fr...