Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88), British painter of portraits and landscapes. After an apprenticeship in London, he set up as a portrait painter in Ipswich (1752). His moves to Bath (1760) and London (1774) brought him more fashionable sitters, including Dr Johnson, Sheridan, and the royal family. He was a founder member of the Royal Academy, but withdrew after a quarrel about the hanging of a painting in 1784. About 750 of his portraits, a few finished landscapes, and many landscape drawings survive.
