Closer Look: Gainsborough’s “Grace Dalrymple Elliott”

In this episode of Closer Look, Besmira Rraci, Ayesha Bulchandani Education Intern, discusses Thomas Gainsborough’s "Grace Dalrymple Elliott," on display on the fourth floor of Frick Madison. Besmira unveils the identity of this blushing sitter while emphasizing how the aesthetic choices of her depiction communicate her multifaceted life. This is the first episode in a series of three, featuring the Education Department's 2022 summer interns each taking an in-depth look at one object in our collection.

Grace Dalrymple Elliott

Painting shown at 2:52: Thomas Gainsborough, Mrs. Grace Dalrymple Elliott (1754?–1823), 1778, oil on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; bequest of William K. Vanderbilt, 1920