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Two parts of a letter by Thomas Gainsborough
(1727–1788) reunited

 

 

 

 

Susan Sloman

 

 

Among the 13 letters from Thomas Gainsborough to his friend the musician William Jackson (1730–1803) in the collection of the Royal Academy, London, are three that contain related references to a road accident and the loan of a harp. When John Hayes published Gainsborough’s correspondence in 2001, the only guidance as to date was ‘Bath Feb: 6th’ on the first of the group.[1] The second letter had been cut to remove the artist’s signature (Pl 1) and the third had no date.[2]

 

 

1 Letter to William Jackson from Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), here shown to have been dated 14 February 1769, with signature removed. Ink on paper, 22.8 x 36.7 cm. Royal Academy of Arts, London, GA1/5

 

 

Hayes made a good guess that the year was 1770 and that references to a forthcoming exhibition were to the second annual Royal Academy exhibition of April 1770.

In January 2024 the missing part of the second letter reappeared at auction, having been separated by clean vertical and horizontal cuts through the paper.[3] Proof that the butchered ‘autograph’ section does indeed belong to this letter is provided by the continuation of descenders in the words ‘if’ and ‘impropriety’ in the last line of the main text (Pl 2, Pl 3). Most importantly, there is a full date, ‘Bath Feb: 14th. 1769’.

 

 

2 Detail of same letter to William Jackson from Thomas Gainsborough, including separated section bearing signature and date

 

 

 

3 Whole letter reunited

 

 

This shows that Gainsborough’s remarks about ‘the Exhibition’ in the third letter anticipate the first Royal Academy exhibition, which opened at Dalton’s Rooms in Pall Mall on 26 April 1769.[4] He speaks of exposing ‘slight dabs’ to ‘the Eyes of a Million’, making the point that an artist should never stand still, even if his established manner of painting earned him a good living. Over time, Gainsborough’s relations with the Royal Academy became strained and in 1773 he chose not to send any pictures to the London exhibitions. The dating of this correspondence from Bath shows that at the beginning, he thought very seriously about how he presented himself to the wider world via the walls of the Academy.

 

 

  1. My thanks are due to Mark Pomeroy, Archivist of the Royal Academy of Arts, for his patience and expert assistance.John Hayes, ed, The Letters of Thomas Gainsborough, London 2001, pp70–73, nos 41–3. ↑
  2. The letters passed by descent to a J Ballard, from whom they were purchased by the Royal Academy in 1888. ↑
  3. Stacey Auctioneers and Valuers, Rayleigh, Essex, Two Day Sale of Antiques and Collectables, 30 January 2024, lot 1614, previously with Ed Read Historical Autographs (date unrecorded), now in a private collection. ↑
  4. Hayes, pp72–3, no. 43. ↑

 

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