Mr. and Mrs. John Gravenor and their Daughters, Elizabeth and Ann

Thomas Gainsborough painted the family portrait between 1752 and 1754 after moving to Ipswich from his native Sudbury. John Gravenor was a successful apothecary who turned to local politics in 1754, likely commissioning this portrait to celebrate his new public role.

The nearly square format suggests the picture was intended as an over-mantel decoration. Crossed tree trunks behind the figures allude to matrimony. Gainsborough arranged the family harmoniously beside a wheat field, as if paused on a walk. The girls, Elizabeth and Ann, hold freshly picked flowers while their parents flank them.

The darkening sky contrasts dramatically with the women's fashionable dresses. Fluid brushstrokes capture light dancing across brightly colored silks. The painting hangs at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut.