Wooded Landscape with Herdsman and Cattle, early 1770s
Thomas Gainsborough R.A.expand_more
India ink, white lead, black chalk and watercolor, on wove paper, varnishedexpand_more
Gift of Mrs. Darragh Aldrich in memory of her motherexpand_more 64.17.1
Not on Viewexpand_more
Though best known for his magnificent portraits, Thomas Gainsborough preferred painting “landskips” (as he called them) and played a key role in establishing the importance of landscape in British art. As a young artist he enjoyed the beauties of his native Suffolk countryside. After moving to Bath, to pursue the regular income the spa town could provide a portrait painter, he had less time for gamboling through the fields. Instead, he fashioned miniature landscapes, using broccoli for trees, bits of cork or coal for stones, fragments of mirrors for water, and whatever else was to hand. He dedicated an oak folding table to this purpose and would set it up in his parlor. This is not to say he never again drew from nature, but many of his mature landscapes are fantasies deeply informed by experience.
Details
- Title
- Wooded Landscape with Herdsman and Cattle
- Artist Life
- 1727–1788
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 64.17.1
- Provenance
- John Jay, New York ('1794*-d. 1829); by descent to the widow of Augustus Jay; Reverend James Dabney McCabe, D.D., Richmond, Virginia; by descent to his granddaughter, Mrs. Darragh Aldrich, Minneapolis (1929-64; gave to MIA) *John Jay traveled to England as representative of President Washington to negotatiate the Jay treaty.
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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