Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsborough was an English painter, draughtsman and printmaker, baptised in 1727 and active until his death in 1788, who became one of the most important British artists of the eighteenth century alongside his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds. Though he earned his living chiefly through portraits such as Mr and Mrs Andrews and The Blue Boy, he found greater satisfaction in landscapes and, with Richard Wilson, helped originate the British landscape school; his mature work is marked by a light palette and easy, rapid strokes. He was a founding member of the Royal Academy.