The Painter's Daughter Mary (1750–1826)
mid-19th century
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
17 1/4 x 13 7/8 in. (43.8 x 35.2 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Maria DeWitt Jesup, from the collection of her husband, Morris K. Jesup, 1914
Accession Number
15.30.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Gainsborough’s *The Painter’s Daughter Mary* offers an intimate glimpse into the artist’s personal life. Painted in oil on canvas, the small-scale portrait depicts his daughter Mary, who lived from 1750 to 1826. Gainsborough, celebrated for his sensitive and elegant approach to portraiture, frequently turned his brush toward family members, allowing a warmth and immediacy that distinguishes these works from his formal commissions. The painting’s modest dimensions invite close viewing, highlighting Gainsborough’s fluid handling of paint and subtle rendering of expression. As a work now ...
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...