CIRCLE OF THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH, R.A., SUDBURY, 1727 - 1788, LONDON, 18TH CENTURY OIL ON CANVAS Titled

CIRCLE OF THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH, R.A., SUDBURY, 1727 - 1788, LONDON, 18TH CENTURY OIL ON CANVAS Titled 'The Rural Lovers', signed lower left 'T Gainsborough Pinxt 1759', relined, held in a period carved giltwood frame decorated with acorns and foliage. (sight 56cm x 45cm/22.04' x 17.71') Restorers linen label attached to stretcher, inscribed in ink; 'The Rural Lovers, Gainsborough'. In pencil on the stretcher the name 'Lalor' can be found. Provenance: Private collection London. The collection of Connie Burgess of Wrotham, Kent, and her husband Major Alexander 'Olez' Gulkowski (1890 - 1959), aristocrat and officer who served the Polish Govt in Exile when in London 1939-45 [As a young man, together with his family, Alexander was regular guest of Emperor Franz-Joseph I of Austria]. The collection of Anne Pauline Sadleir 1877-1933 Irish The collection of Thomas Lalor of Cregg, Newtownlennon, Tipperary. By the middle of the 19th century the Lalor family owned estates comprising 2,873 acres in Tipperary, and 527 acres in County Waterford. Following the death of Thomas Lalor in 1890, his estates passed to his sister's family, the Sadleir's of Castleblake, county Tipperary. The Lalors were resident at Long Orchard, county Tipperary, from the mid 18th century. [Source: The Landed Estates Database, Ireland ] This work may have formed part of the 1st sale of property belonging to Panton Betew that was sold through Thomas King, Auctioneer, in 1799. [N8640. N6+v.2 Yale Centre for British Art]. Notes: This painting very closely matches the composition and orientation of the engraved version titled 'The Rural Lovers' after Gainsborough in the Royal Academy Collection by Francois Vivares [Pub 4 Aug 1760]. The owner is given as Mr Panton Betew, London Silversmith, art dealer and art collector who handled Gainsborough's early work in the 1750's. Betew was also a close friend of the artist William Hogarth and the engraver Francois Vivares. https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/the-rural-lovers Respected historian John Hayes noted in his 1982 publication; Thomas Gainsborough (publisher: Sotheby's ) that Vivares 'Engraved in reverse', thus faithfully reproducing the original orientation of the composition. Another lesser version - in this orientation - can be found in the Victoria Museum, Bath. A version known as 'Rustic Courtship' circa 1758 is in The Montreal Museum of Fine Art (No: 1915.57). Although similar, this clearly is a different composition from the present work, but incorporates many of the same elements. https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/works/9133/ The size of this work is 74.6cm x 120.3cm [29.37ins x 47.36ins]. Significantly, this matches the dimensions stated on the engraving of 'The Rural Lovers'. Further notes: Part of this same landscape is also to be found in 'Landscape in Suffolk' by Thomas Gainsborough circa 1746-50 in the Kuntshistoriches Museum in Vienna (66cm x 95cm) 'n London, Gainsborough had built up an impressive reputation as the leading specialist in rustic landscape art, which he worked hard to sustain even after his move to Suffolk. Throughout this period he produced landscape designs for publication in the capital, and also supplied speculative works for sale through the Soho art dealer Panton Betew.' (Tate)