Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsborough
(British, 1727-1788)

Woodland Stream, c. 1745
black chalk on paper
6 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches.
Property from the Collection of F. Alan Cummings, Tallahassee, Florida Fine Art

Provenance:
Xanthus, Reymerston, Norfolk & London, 1990
Phillips & Deans, Tallahassee, Florida and London
Purchased directly from the above by the present owner

Exhibited:
Norfolk, Reymerston, Xanthus, British Watercolours, 1991, no. 2, illus.

Literature:
Hugh Belsey. “A Second Supplement to John Hayes's ‘The Drawings of Thomas Gainsborough,’” Master Drawings, vol. 46, no. 4, 2008, no. 996, pp. 461-462, illus.

Lot note:
According to Hugh Belsey, this lot is perhaps the earliest extant landscape drawing by Thomas Gainsborough. The interaction between the foilage and branches, as well as the highlights, recall the work of Anthonie Waterloo (Dutch, c. 1610-1690), whom Gainsborough admired, and may very well been copied from a drawing by the older artist.