A young, light-skinned, rosy-cheeked child stands against a landscape of trees and rolling hills in this vertical portrait painting. Some areas are loosely painted, especially in the background, giving the portrait a soft look. The boy stands with his body angled to our left but he turns to look at us with clear gray-blue eyes under faint brows. He has a straight nose and his dark rose-pink, heart-shaped lips are closed. His wispy, honey-brown hair curls around his face and down the back of his neck. He wears a long, white, dress-like garment with bands of satin on the short sleeves and…
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Master John Heathcote

Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727 - 1788)

c. 1771/1772

Medium
oil on canvas
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
overall: 127 × 101.2 cm (50 × 39 13/16 in.) ; framed: 159.4 × 133.3 × 14 cm (62 3/4 × 52 1/2 × 5 1/2 in.)
Culture
British
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CAB
Credit line
Given in memory of Governor Alvan T. Fuller by The Fuller Foundation, Inc.
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art

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