Floor plan

Time and place18th-century Britain

18th-century Britain

Shown from the waist up, a young, pale-skinned woman with her gray hair piled high atop her head is lit starkly against a dark background in this vertical portrait painting. The woman’s shoulders are angled to our left. Her face is square to us, but she looks off to our right from the corners of her eyes, which are gray rimmed with golden brown around the pupils. She has a thin face, smooth cheeks, a bow-shaped pink mouth, and a narrow chin. Her hair is mostly swept up high under a bank of pearl-white feathers and some sparkling ornaments. A few ringlets hang down the back of her neck. The bodice of her white dress scoops low across her chest and sits just above her sloping shoulders. The dress is adorned with pearls on the sleeves and around the neckline, and the fabric shimmers from silvery white to pale gold. The background is earth-brown around her face and deepens to almost black in the corners.
A work made of engraving in black ink with opaque and translucent watercolor on cream laid paper.
Cottage Children (The Wood Gatherers), by Thomas Gainsborough, 1787
A work made of engraving in black ink with opaque and translucent watercolor on cream laid paper.
A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.
A work made of varnished gouache, over black and red chalks, on cream laid paper, laid down on canvas, stretched on a wooden stretcher and varnished again.
Small Landscape, ca. 1750-1800

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in Britain in the 18th century.

First room, north wall

  1. Shown from the waist up, a young, pale-skinned woman with her gray hair piled high atop her head is lit starkly against a dark background in this vertical portrait painting. The woman’s shoulders are angled to our left. Her face is square to us, but she looks off to our right from the corners of her eyes, which are gray rimmed with golden brown around the pupils. She has a thin face, smooth cheeks, a bow-shaped pink mouth, and a narrow chin. Her hair is mostly swept up high under a bank of pearl-white feathers and some sparkling ornaments. A few ringlets hang down the back of her neck. The bodice of her white dress scoops low across her chest and sits just above her sloping shoulders. The dress is adorned with pearls on the sleeves and around the neckline, and the fabric shimmers from silvery white to pale gold. The background is earth-brown around her face and deepens to almost black in the corners.
    Mrs. Paul Cobb MethuenThomas Gainsborough, c. 1776/1777Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A work made of engraving in black ink with opaque and translucent watercolor on cream laid paper.
    May, from Twelve Months of FlowersHenry Fletcher, n.d.Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Cottage Children (The Wood Gatherers), by Thomas Gainsborough, 1787
    Cottage Children (The Wood Gatherers)Thomas Gainsborough, 1787Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. A work made of engraving in black ink with opaque and translucent watercolor on cream laid paper.
    July, from Twelve Months of FlowersHenry Fletcher, n.d.Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.
    Death on a Pale HorseJoseph Haynes, 1784, after the drawing of 1775Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of varnished gouache, over black and red chalks, on cream laid paper, laid down on canvas, stretched on a wooden stretcher and varnished again.
    Wooded Landscape with Village SceneThomas Gainsborough, early 1770s (not later than 1772)Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. Small Landscape, ca. 1750-1800
    Small LandscapeUnrecorded British maker, ca. 1750-1800Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, south wall

  1. Black, gray pastel portrait of man in a fur hat.
    Self-Portrait in a Fur CapJoseph Wright of Derby, 1765/68Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Theophilia GwatkinJoshua Reynolds, 1776–81Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. The image shows a landscape scene from an elevated viewpoint. There are large columns of a classical ruin and a leafy tree on the left. On the right, there is a spreading tree with intricate leaves. In the background, there is a pastoral landscape with figures and animals. A shepherd and a cow are guiding a flock of sheep, and buildings can be seen in the distance. The horizon divides the image into sky and earth. The brushstrokes are detailed, capturing textures effectively. The color palette consists of earthy tones with touches of brighter colors on the figures' clothing.
    Heroic Landscape with Fisherman, Cows, and HorsemenJohn Baptist Jackson, 1744Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming, by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1779
    Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus DeclaimingJoseph Wright of Derby, 1779Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. John Johnstone, Betty Johnstone, and Miss Wedderburn, by Sir Henry Raeburn, c. 1790/1795
    John Johnstone, Betty Johnstone, and Miss WedderburnSir Henry Raeburn, c. 1790/1795Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Third room, north wall

  1. The Dutton Family in the Drawing Room of Sherborne Park, Gloucestershire, by Johann Zoffany, c. 1772
    The Dutton Family in the Drawing Room of Sherborne Park, GloucestershireJohann Zoffany, c. 1772Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of red chalk on cream laid paper.
    Self-PortraitJohn Flaxman, c. 1779Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. The image shows a pheasant with vivid green and blue plumage and intricate golden patterns on its wings. The bird has long, patterned tail feathers extended to the right. The background includes palm trees, rocky outcrops, and distant hills.
    Phasianus VersicolorWilliam Home LizarsCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. A work made of brush and black ink wash, with pen and black ink and opaque white and gray watercolor, on cream laid paper.
    A Hero Born on a Bier, from The Master of Giants PortfolioPrince Hoare, 1779Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago