The Hon. Mrs. Thomas Graham c. 1775 - 1777

Curator: Standing before us is Thomas Gainsborough's portrait of The Honorable Mrs. Thomas Graham, painted around 1775-1777. Isn't it striking? Editor: Absolutely. It gives off a rather mournful air, doesn't it? The colours are muted, almost as if the paint itself is sighing. You can almost smell the beeswax in this oil-on-canvas; it screams labor and luxury at the same time. Curator: That's a lovely observation! I see a refined melancholy too. The slight upward tilt of her chin suggests dignity, even a touch of defiance, amidst that gentle sorrow. It really captures her character. She's very romanticised but retains her inner personality here. Editor: I'm immediately drawn to the textile depiction here, though. The textures are wonderfully suggestive – how long did it take Gainsborough to layer that fabric? Look closely at the material draped over her hands, gathering almost as though in supplication. There’s also lace trim: the economics alone is staggering if we trace the materials involved here. The pigments used would also provide insight, don't you agree? Curator: That's a marvelous point, considering the textile industry was in full swing! And as a successful artist he must have enjoyed relative access to the colour options of the time. Gainsborough's brushwork, loose and fluid, creates a sense of movement and liveliness; a glimpse into a fashionable moment from the past! This reminds us that paintings are made things, produced, handled, sold and then valued on the marketplace in various ways that often obscure all the work involved in making them, or make them look like acts of genius from on high. Editor: Exactly. We can see so much socio-political context if we look carefully at the techniques and tools the artist used. Curator: Indeed, considering his position as a popular society portrait painter, this might be viewed as one of his better renderings given how well the technique enhances and enriches his rendering of a beautiful fashionable woman of the era. It reveals some sensitivity on his part too, maybe he sees himself as just a simple man doing an honest job of capturing life for posterity! Editor: It's all rather melancholic once you break it all down, don't you think? Curator: That is what I like about it: a melancholic fashion moment. Editor: Precisely! Thanks for sharing that, I find it’s enriching.