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A clump of trees

ca. 1757
Not on view
While living in Ipswich in the 1750s, Gainsborough made a group of intensely wrought graphite drawings of trees, including this sheet, which comes from a sketchbook. The artist is now admired for his abstract approach to landscape, but this work demonstrates how careful observation of nature provided a foundation for later compositions. Here, a brushed layer of gray wash provides a tonal foundation for graphite strokes applied to describe foliage. Varied pressure on a porte-crayon (a drawing tool designed to clamp small pieces of graphite) allowed him to delineate delicate leaf clusters and indicate light falling from the left.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A clump of trees
  • Artist: Thomas Gainsborough (British, Sudbury 1727–1788 London)
  • Date: ca. 1757
  • Medium: Graphite, brush and gray wash
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 6 1/4 x 7 5/8 in. (15.8 x 19.4 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2013
  • Object Number: 2013.100
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Landscape, Thomas Gainsborough British, Soft-ground etching on blue paper with touches of white chalk
Landscape
Thomas Gainsborough
18th–19th century
Wooded Landscape with Riders, Thomas Gainsborough British, Aquatint; second state of two
Wooded Landscape with Riders
Thomas Gainsborough
John & Josiah Boydell
August 1, 1797
Wooded Landscape with Country Cart, Cottage and Figures, Thomas Gainsborough British, Soft-ground etching; first state
Wooded Landscape with Country Cart, Cottage and Figures
Thomas Gainsborough
1784–86
Wooded Landscape with Herdsmen and Cows, Thomas Gainsborough British, Aquatint with soft-ground etching, printed in gray ink; third state of three
Wooded Landscape with Herdsmen and Cows
Thomas Gainsborough
John & Josiah Boydell
August 1, 1797
Wooded Landscape with Cows beside a Pool, Figures and Cottage, Thomas Gainsborough British, Soft-ground etching with aquatint, printed in gray ink
Wooded Landscape with Cows beside a Pool, Figures and Cottage
Thomas Gainsborough
1775–80

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