Woman with a Spaniel

Maker Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727-1788)

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1749

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm.)

DescriptionThis painting portrays a woman seated in a landscape. A spaniel dog is seated at her feet to the left. Dressed in pink silk dress with white ruffles at sleeve openings, the sitter is holding a book in her left hand, resting her right arm on the protruding root of a tree just behind her.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

On view

Label TextIn this early portrait by Gainsborough, an elegantly dressed woman wearing a white and pink dress is portrayed in a natural setting next to her faithful dog. She is shown with a book in her left hand. The book is open, suggesting that the sitter is in the process of reading it, though her gaze engages the viewer instead. In the 18th century, reading was regarded as a conventional pastime among wealthy women. The presence of books in women’s portraits is a reference to their intelligence and literacy.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number47.1