The Hon. Mrs. Thomas Graham
c. 1775/1777
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 89.5 x 69 cm (35 1/4 x 27 3/16 in.) framed: 118.1 x 97.8 x 10.5 cm (46 1/2 x 38 1/2 x 4 1/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Widener Collection
Accession Number
1942.9.21
Art Historical Context
Thomas Gainsborough's *The Hon. Mrs. Graham*, painted around 1775–1777, captures the elegance of 18th-century British high society. This oil-on-canvas portrait depicts Mary Cathcart, the Honorable Mrs. Thomas Graham, member of the aristocracy whose poised likeness exemplifies Gainsborough's mastery of portraiture. At 89.5 x 69 cm, the intimate scale invites viewers close, much like a private conversation in a grand estate. Gainsborough, a leading figure in English Rococo and the emerging Romantic movement, was renowned for his loose, feathery brushwork and ability to infuse portraits with vit...
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...