Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture

Explore the world of Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture, The Frick Collection’s first special exhibition dedicated to the period-defining English artist, and the first devoted to Gainsborough’s portraiture ever held in New York.

Aimee Ng, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, discusses Thomas Gainsborough’s ascent, as well as the popularity of portraiture and the concept of fashion in eighteenth-century Britain. She considers many of the stories of the individuals who sat for the portraits now gathered at the Frick, representing some of the greatest achievements from every stage of Gainsborough’s career.

0:56: “Roman Baths and Abbey, IV, Bath, England.” ca. 1890 – ca. 1900. Photomechanical print: photochrom, color. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.