Study of a Woman Facing Right, Possibly Ann Ford (Later Mrs. Phillip Thicknesse)

This study by one of the preeminent portraitists in eighteenth-century England has been linked to Gainsborough’s first monumental full-length portrait of a woman, the musician and singer Ann Ford, painted early in the artist’s Bath period. Gainsborough occasionally produced drawings in preparation for his portraits, and surviving sheets suggest that he made several studies for Ann Ford, Later Mrs. Phillip Thicknesse (1760), now at the Cincinnati Art Museum. These reflect the effort he made to achieve a satisfying figural composition. Similarities between this sheet and the final portrait include the pattern of light and shade across the skirt, the placement of the figure’s legs, and the style of her shoes, which are repeated almost exactly in the painting. Here, the artist places the subject outdoors and appears to work out an initial idea for her pose and dress. The sheet may have been executed from life or perhaps from a mannequin in Gainsborough’s studio, which he was known to use in the early years of his career.