Thomas Gainsborough R.A. 1727-1788

John Hunter;

Hunter sale at Christie's, 29th January 1794, lot 18 (with another), bt.Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Bt;

by descent to the present owner

The present drawing and the following lot show Gainsborough at his most economical stylistically. It is not a coincidence that they both date from the 1780s when his drawings are at their most confident and experimental. He starts the drawing with a base of stump (black chalk which he has then smudged with rolled up cardboard or cloth). This provides a similar effect to a grey wash but with more texture.  To add detail, he then adds black chalk, but only sparingly. The sky consists of fifteen parallels lines of chalk while the figures are finished with five or six strokes.

Interestingly this and lot 3 both originate from the collection of the eminent surgeon and anatomist John Hunter (1728-1793) who presumably acquired them from Gainsborough himself. Hunter was the most eminent surgeon of his time and was appointed Surgeon Extraordinary to George III in 1776 and Surgeon General in 1790. In 1764, he bought two acres of land at Earl's Court and assembled a remarkable collection of dead and live animals as well as drawings and oil paintings relating to the phenomena of life. He managed to obtain first refusal on all animals which died in the Tower of London menagerie and was constantly adding to his collection. On his death, as per the terms of his will, the collection was offered to the government but Pitt prevaricated. To maintain his family while negotiations continued, his collection of furniture, books, pictures and objects of vertu, including the present drawings, were sold in 1794. Finally in 1800 his collection was accepted by the Royal College of Surgeons. In 1819 in conjunction with the College,  the Hunterian Society was founded