How did Thomas Gainsborough’s later portraits of women differ from his earlier portraits?

Thomas Gainsborough’s approach to portraiture evolved significantly throughout his career. In his early work, such as Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (c. 1750), he frequently depicted sitters grouped within a landscape setting.1

As his career progressed, particularly after moving to Bath and later to London, he adopted a more formal and elegant style influenced by Anthony Van Dyck. By the late 1770s, his portraits—such as Mrs. Graham—became deliberately glamorous, characterized by richly heightened color.213

In his final years, Gainsborough’s technique for painting women shifted further. He began to dispense with precise finish, focusing instead on the general effect of the subject. In works like Mrs. Sheridan, the figure appears to melt into the landscape, while Lady Bate Dudley is rendered as an insubstantial, almost abstract form. This late style prioritized atmospheric quality and lightness of touch over the objective detail seen in his earlier, more traditional portraiture.3