The Gravenor Family

Hoping to advance his career in a bigger market, Gainsborough moved from Sudbury to the larger port town of Ipswich around 1752. This last conversation piece depicts the local politician John Gravenor (1700–1778) and his family and may commemorate Gravenor's appointment as bailiff in 1754. Though Gainsborough showed remarkable innovation in the composition of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, here he reverted to a more archaic mode that closely resembles the work of his teacher, Francis Hayman. This return to convention may reflect his patron's preferences. The stiff bodices and panniers (hooped structures that create a wide silhouette) worn by Gravenor's wife, Ann, and their daughters Ann, in pink, and Elizabeth, in white, give them a formal rigidity, that may also result from Gainsborough's use of lay figures (posable wood models) in his studio. Gravenor stands with the poise of a dancing master, striking the gentleman's pose with his hand tucked into his waistcoat. The brook and wheat field, like the flowers and wheat held by the young women, hint at the family's success and bounty.