The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-26

was landscape painter of the first or
der.
Naturally so gifted a man must have
been little short of a genius-a word
which really described this interesting
artist, since his success was the result
but came rather by intuition. Sir
Joshua Reynolds said of him: If ever
this nation should produce genius suffi-
cient to acquire to US the honorable
distinction of an English school, the
name of Gainsborough will be transmit
ted to posterity in the history of art
among the very first of that rising
name" And it will be remembered that
Sir Joshua had no reason to be over
fond of the. man, for they were deadly
rivals in their art.
Thomas Gainsborough was born in
May, 1927. His parents were highly re-
spectacle people of the middle class.
and at the time of the boys birth were
living in Sudbury. The mother had
some small taste in painting and was
always in touch with the aims of her
distinguished son. As child he
sketched landscapes, and at IA his par
ents were so impressed with his talent
that he was sent to London and placed
under the care of a goldsmith, as a
practical way of developing his art
taste. There he met an engraver
named Gravelot, who was impressed
with his ability and succeeded in gain
ing for him admission to the st. Mar
tins Lane academy, then q popular art
school in the metropolis. From Grave
lot the lad Thomas obtained much VAL
liable instruction in etching, and for
three years he worked at the academy
where he fell in with a dissolute crowd,
and it is presumed considerable of his
time was wasted with convivial ac-
quaintances; these habits of convivi-
atty chung to him through, his later
life That he did work, however, there
is no doubt. and, being naturally quick
he accomplished much more than the
ordinary pupil. firing of school life,
he started out for himself, taking rooms
m Hatton Garden and setting up as a
full-fledged painter. While waiting for
customers, who rarely came to sit for
) him, he painted many landscapes. YER
! table pot-boilers. which he sold to the
dealers at absurdly small sums. When
a sitter did come he charged from E3
to e5 for portrait. A year of this was
so discouraging that he packed up and
returned to his native town, where,
with the prestige of his London ex-
perience, he became more or less of a
moderate success, and now he painted
| landscapes with greater seriousness
| than hitherto.
| Always dllTdcllNe personally ana
/ having much distinction of manner, a
characteristic which cluIg 70 him
through life, his life in the metropolis
added an extra polish and refinement
| which greatly impressed his provincial
friends. AT 10 he married. The vague
reports of the woman of his choice give
little insight into his home life, save
that the wife was an ordinary woman
and beneath him in every way She was
| TfCcs AT1v- Il,r.-x -
| dowry of $500 a year. 1t is reported
| that she was a natural daughter of the
Duke of Bedford. Whatever the mad
visibility of the union, it does not seem
to have handicapped him in his art, and
shortly he removed to Ipswich. where
for fifteen years he lived in great con-
tentment, turning when the days work
was over to his music, to which he was
passionately devoted. In the meanwhile
the convivial habits acquired in London
were continued here. and with his
friends he made merry in the tavern
and drank far into the night; not. how
ever, as it appears, seriously to the det-
riment of his art, for he went steadily
forward in his work.
| An important change of residence
took place when Gainsborough, upon
the advice of an influential friend
named Thicknesse. went to live at
Bath. That city was then the most
fashionable reSort in all England and
probably no town offered greater adj
vantages for a portrait painter People
of wealth and social position. with plen-
| ty of time hanging idly on their hands.
welcomed the opportunity to sit to the
artist, and from the beginning, having
taken a pretentious house. Gainsbor-
ough never lacked for patrons. He now
charged 40 guineas for a haif-length
| rOrfraif and 100 for a f1,11-lor 9th and
had about all he could do. though he
still found time to paint landscapes.
The Royal academy was founded in
176S and Gainsborougk contributed to
| the second exhibition. His connection
/. with the institution. however. is some