John, 4th Earl of Darnley

1785

Thomas Gainsborough

Artist, British, 1727 - 1788

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 76 x 63.5 cm (29 15/16 x 25 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.9.22

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Painted for the sitter, John, 4th Earl of Darnley [1767-1831], Cobham Hall, Kent; by descent to Ivo, 8th Earl of Darnley [1859-1927]; sold to (P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London), by 1909;[1] purchased 1910 by (M. Knoedler & Co., London); sold 21 March 1910 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Knoedler & Co. records, cited by The Getty Provenance Index.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1877

  • Works by the Old Masters, and by Deceased Masters of the British School. Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1877, no. 252.

1885

  • The Works of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A., Grosvenor Gallery, London, 1885, no. 93.

1905

  • Eleventh Annual Exhibition on Behalf of the Artists' General Benevolent Institution, Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London, 1905, no. 11.

1914

  • Paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, R.A. and J.M.W. Turner, R.A., M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, 1914, no. 6.

Bibliography

1785

  • Morning Herald, 8 April 1785.

  • Public Advertiser, 13 April 1785.

1898

  • Armstrong, Sir Walter. Gainsborough & His Place in English Art. London, 1898: 194; popular ed., London, 1904: 263.

1915

  • Whitley, William T. Thomas Gainsborough. London, 1915: 238-239.

  • Roberts, William. Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania: British and Modern French Schools, Philadelphia, 1915: unpaginated, repro.

1923

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro.

1931

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 16, repro.

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 5, as The Earl of Darnley.

1948

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 86, repro., as The Earl of Darnley.

1958

  • Waterhouse, Sir Ellis. Gainsborough. London, 1958: no. 184.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 55, as The Earl of Darnley.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 47, repro., as The Earl of Darnley.

1969

  • Watson, Ross. "British Paintings in the National Gallery of Art." The Connoisseur 172 (1969): 56, repro. 55.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 142, repro., as The Earl of Darnley.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: no. 500, color repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 357, no. 498, color repro., as The Earl of Darnley.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 166, repro.

1992

  • Hayes, John. British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 100-101, repro. 101.

Wikidata ID

Q20179341

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