Master John Heathcote

Gainsborough produced only about ten independent portraits of children. Here, the young John Heathcote (1767–1838) wears a lightweight muslin dress that reflects Georgian ideals about the liberality and freedom of childhood; boys and girls were dressed similarly until around age seven, when boys were breeched (made to wear breeches). The black feathered hat, somewhat oversized for the child, introduces the traditional color of mourning. It may be associated with the anecdote that has long accompanied the portrait. Reportedly, Heathcote's parents had lost their other children to an outbreak of illness and requested that Gainsborough portray their surviving son before it was too late. Reluctant to take on a commission at the time, Gainsborough asked to see the boy. He agreed to paint the picture because they had dressed him simply, not in fancy clothes. Heathcote lived to the age of seventy-one.