Thomas Gainsborough

Rococo painter Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) became one of Britain's most celebrated artists through his portraits and landscapes. Born in Sudbury, Suffolk, he trained in London under Hubert Gravelot, absorbing French Rococo influences. After working in Ipswich and Bath, he settled in London in 1774, becoming a founding member of the Royal Academy and the personal favorite of King George III despite Joshua Reynolds holding the official court painter position.

Gainsborough famously painted "portraits for money and landscapes because he loved them." His technique was remarkably free, building forms through feathery brushstrokes that created shimmering effects. The Blue Boy (1770), influenced by Van Dyck's portraits, became an icon of British art. His landscapes pioneered the 18th-century English landscape tradition later developed by Constable and Turner. According to his daughter, his last word was "Van Dyck." Today the National Gallery London holds major works, while The Blue Boy hangs at the Huntington Library in California. Gainsborough's House in Sudbury is now a museum dedicated to his life.