Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies after Old Masters now published

Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies after Old Masters, a two volume catalogue raisonné authored by Hugh Belsey and funded for by the Centre, is now available to purchase from Yale University Press.

This catalogue contains approximately 1,100 paintings, including nearly 200 works newly attributed to the British master, as well as updated information about his subjects and specially commissioned photography. Each portrait entry includes the biography of the sitter—including several newly identified—the painting’s provenance, and exhibitions in which each work was shown. Gainsborough’s copies after Old Masters, painted in admiration and used to assimilate their style of painting into his own work, are documented here as well. Research includes in-depth analysis of newspaper archives and other printed material to establish the date of a painting’s production, chart the development of the artist’s style, and assess the impression the work made within the context of its time.

Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies after Old Masters can be purchased online here.