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greatest landscape painter of the day/ to which Richard Wilson, R.A., probably nettled, retorted, 'Ay, and the greatest
Eortrait painter, too ' — an assertion which as now become the opinion of many. Gainsborough's portraits, particularly of females, possess some of the sweetest qua- lities, fresh in colour, pure and silvery in tone, graceful without affectation, the backgrounds excellent. His rustic figures no less delight by their charms of simple nature; and his landscapes, into which cattle and figures are introduced with great art, are filled with nature's truths Dy a clever, facile generalisation which, while far from individualised imitation, satisfies by his purely original view and rendering. He has the great merit of having discarded all the conventionalities of the schools, and de- voted himself to the study of nature — of the scenery of his own country, beyond which he never wandered.
In 1766 he was a member of the Incor- porated Society of Artists, and occasionally sent his pictures to London' for exhibition. He was chosen one of the foundation mem- bers of the Royal Academy; and in 1774, increased in reputation ana confidence, he came to London and first lived in Hatton Garden, but from 1777 till his death he resided in the western wing of Schomberg House, Pall Mall. He had never shown much interest in the affairs of the Royal Academy, but had been a constant con- tributor of portraits and landscapes to the exhibitions from 1769 to 1784 (except in the years 1773 to 1776). sending in 1783 portraits of the King and Queen and 13 of their children (probably the beautiful series of small portraits arranged in the Queen's private apartments at Windsor). Upon some disagreement with the council as to hanging his portrait-group of the three Princesses, a full-length, but now un- happily cut down, he withdrew that picture, with 17 others he had sent to the exhibi- tion, and did not again exhibit or take any share whatever in the Academy business.
Northcote, R.A., says : * He was a natural gentleman, and with all his simplicity he had wit too.' His own portrait has per- petuated his prepossessing countenance; his sprightly conversation and humour made him a welcome favourite in all society. He was surely a genius; possessed of great taste, passionately fond of music, which, with art, formed his favourite topic. Dr. Wolcott, a good judge, was once in an adjoining room, and hearing him play, ex- claimed, ' That must be Abel' (at tnat time a distinguised musician}, ' for; by God, no man besides can so toucn the instrument!' He had gained both fame and fortune when a complaint in the neck, to which he had paid little attention, developed itself into a cancer, which baffled the skill of his
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physicians, and settling his affairs, he com- posed himself to meet death. He expired August 2, 1788, and by his own desire was buried as privately as possible in Kew Churchyard, where a plain, flat stone sim-
§ly records his name, age, and date of eath. Reynolds, P.R.A., was one of the pall-bearers. He had visited him on his death-bed, and some coolness having exist- ed, the dying man, who wished to be re- conciled to ms brother painter, said, * We are all going to heaven, and Vandyck is of the party. After his death his paint- ings were exhibited for sale by private con- tract, at his house in Pall Mall. The ad- mission was at first 2s. 6d., afterwards Is. His elder brother showed a talent for the arts; a younger brother was a Dissenting Minister at Henley-upon-Thames, and possessed much mechanical genius. His daughter Margaret died unmarried, at Acton, in 1820. He will always occupy one of the highest places in the English school, and his works now command almost fabulous prices. Some fine examples of his art will be found in the National Gal- lery; among them his portrait of Mrs. Siadons and the * Watering-Place; ' at the National Gallery, Edinburgh, portrait of Mary Graham; at the Dulwich Gallery, portrait-group. 'Mrs. Addison and Mrs. Tickell; y in the Westminster Gallery, the portrait of a youth, ' The Blue Boy,' and Mrs. Siddons as the * Tragic;Muse; ' at Windsor Castle, the lovely collection of the family of George III., head size. A 'Sketch of his Life and Paintings,' by Philip Thicknesse, was published in 1788. i His Life,' by Fulcher, 2nd ed., 1856; and a Life of him is included in Cunningham's ' Lives of the Painters.'
GAMMOM, James, engraver and draftsman. He practised in London about 1660. His works are tame and poorly engraved; among them is a portrait of Catherine of Braganza and of Richard Cromwell. The latter is supposed to have been drawn by him from the life, and to have been the portrait from which Samuel Cooper painted the well-known miniature. GANDON, James, architect. He was born in London, February 29, 1742. and was descended from a good French refugee family. He was well educated in classics and mathematics, and developed an early taste for drawing. A loss of property by his father led him earnestly to adopt the study of art, and entering the St. Martin's Lane Academy, he became a constant at- tendant. In 1757 he was awarded a pre- mium by the Society of Arts, and on the arrival of Sir William Chambers in London, he found employment in his office, and afterwards became his articled pupil; and about 1765 he commenced practice on his own account, and was a member of the
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