
Wikimedia Commons • Public Domain
Thomas Gainsborough painted the portrait around 1750, shortly after returning to his native Suffolk from London. The sitter has traditionally been identified as a member of the Lloyd family of Ipswich, though this remains uncertain. She sits outdoors in an informal pose rare for Gainsborough's early female portraits.
The feathery brushwork and cool tonality of the background reflect French influence from Gainsborough's training with Hubert Gravelot. The carefully rendered burdock plant in the foreground came from Dutch landscapes he admired, as well as from direct sketching in nature. This combination of influences gives the portrait its distinctive Rococo charm.
The oil on canvas measures 69.6 x 53 cm and hangs at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, acquired by Kay Kimbell in 1946. Preparatory drawings survive, showing Gainsborough working out the relationship between figure and setting. The painting has recently been reframed in a period British Rococo frame, enhancing its elegant intimacy.
Other masterpieces from the Rococo movement

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1767
Wallace Collection, London

Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1717
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Joshua Reynolds, 1776
National Gallery, London

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1770
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

François Boucher, 1752
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1719
Louvre, Paris, Paris

François Boucher, 1742
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1782
National Gallery, London
Luxury wall art with the same mood and energy. Gallery-quality canvas, no museum crowds.
Browse Collection