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“Mr and Mrs Andrews” by Thomas Gainsborough

"Mr and Mrs Andrews" by Thomas Gainsborough

“Mr. and Mrs. Andrews” by Thomas Gainsborough

“Mr. and Mrs. Andrews” by Thomas Gainsborough is a combination of a double portrait of a recently married couple plus a landscape view of the English countryside. Gainsborough’s work mainly consisted of these two different genres.

Still, this striking combination of detailed double portrait plus landscape, in an extended horizontal format is unique for Gainsborough and rare for that period of art. Gainsborough was about twenty-three when he painted Mr. and Mrs. Andrews in 1750.

This painting is one of Gainsborough’s most famous works, even though it had remained in a private family collection of the sitter’s inheritors until 1960 and was first exhibited in 1927.

Critics praised it for its charm and freshness from its very first exhibition, and its iconic status was established when it was selected as one of four paintings chosen to represent British art in a show in Paris in 1953.

Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter, who surpassed his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds to become the dominant British portraitist of the second half of the 18th century.

He preferred landscapes to portraits and is credited as one of the originators of the 18th-century British landscape school.

Robert Andrews

Robert Andrews, the male sitter, was a member of the landed gentry. Andrew’s family had a London house in Grosvenor Square in Mayfair and engaged in trade with the colonies of the British Empire.

His father purchased him this estate, and secured a bride, to place Robert securely into the upper classes. After his father’s death, Robert took over the family business.

Mrs. Andrews

Frances Mary Carter, sitting beside him in this portrait, was his equal in the class structure and was betrothed to Andrews at 15 years old. When they married, he was 22, she 16.

Her father owned a drapery business as well as property and had a share of a house in London.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrews

  • Title:            Mr. and Mrs. Andrews
  • Artist:          Thomas Gainsborough
  • Year:            1748 and 1749
  • Medium:     Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: Height: 70 cm (27.5 in); Width: 119 cm (46.8 in)
  • Museum:    National Gallery, London

Thomas Gainsborough

  • Name:          Thomas Gainsborough
  • Birth:            1727 – Sudbury, Suffolk, England
  • Died:            1788 (aged 61) – London, England
  • Nationality:  British
  • Notable Works

Sister Wendy on “Naughty” Gainsborough

THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH – MR AND MRS ANDREWS

Gainsborough’s Mr. and Mrs. Andrews

A Tour of the National Gallery

17th Century Paintings

18th Century Paintings

19th Century Paintings

20th Century Paintings

Thomas Gainsborough Mr. and Mrs. Andrews

Gainsborough’s Mr & Mrs. Andrews

Thomas Gainsborough- Mr. and Mrs. Andrews

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“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
– English Proverb

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Photo Credit: 1) Thomas Gainsborough [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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