Suggested Reading List

The list below is an up-to-date list of books and articles about all aspects of Gainsborough's life and work. It is not a comprehensive biographical list, many important articles are mentioned in the bibliographies and footnotes and the reader is directed towards John Hayes , The Drawings of Thomas Gainsborough [2 vols], London 1970 and John Hayes, The Landscape Paintings of Thomas Gainsborough [2 vols], London 1982 for more comprehensive listings.
Much new research is listed in Gainsborough's House Review which is published each September.

1. W. T. Whitley, Thomas Gainsborough, London 1915
   This remains the most thorough biography of the artist, though the reader must be cautious as the book contains a number of errors.
   
   
2. E. K. Waterhouse, Gainsborough, London 1958 [2nd ed. 1966]
   This volume publishes the greatest number of illustrations of Gainsborough's paintings. Although the landscape paintings have been recatalogued by Hayes [1982], this book remains the most important catalogue of the artist's portraits.
   It updates Waterhouse's 'Preliminary Check-List of Portraits by Thomas Gainsborough', Walpole Society, 1948-50, XXXIII. Eleven portraits from Gainsborough's Suffolk period (before 1759) were published by John Hayes, 'Some unknown early Gainsborough Portraits', Burlington Magazine, 1965, CVII, pp. 62-74.
   
   
3. Mary Woodall [ed.], The Letters of Thomas Gainsborough, London [2nd ed.] 1963
   This unindexed edition of Gainsborough's letters will be superseded by a new edition of letters which is being prepared by John Hayes.
   
   
4. John Hayes, The Drawings of Thomas Gainsborough, [2 vols], London 1970
   This well illustrated catalogue of Gainsborough's drawings supersedes Mary Woodall's book, Gainsborough's Drawings, London 1939. An Addenda was published by John Hayes, 'Gainsborough's Drawings: A Supplement to the Catalogue Raisonée', in Master Drawings, XXI no 4, 1983, pp. 367-91. Further information about the drawings appears in John Hayes and Lindsay Stainton, Gainsborough Drawings, catalogue of an exhibition organised by the International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington DC, 1983.
   
   
5. John Hayes, Gainsborough as Printmaker, London 1971
   A fully illustrated catalogue of Gainsborough's work as an etcher and aquatinter. Hugh Belsey, Gainsborough: The Printmaker, catalogue of an exhibition at the Peter Pears Gallery, Aldeburgh 1988 updates this publication.
   
   
6. John Hayes, Gainsborough, London 1975
   A fully illustrated book about the artist with an essay placing him in context.
   
   
7. John Hayes, Gainsborough, catalogue of an exhibition at the Tate Gallery, London 1980/81
   A fully illustrated catalogue with a lively biography of the artist. This catalogue republishes much material that appeared in the authors 1975 survey. The exhibition was transferred to the Grand Palais in Paris in 1981. The Paris version of the exhibition included additional loans (John Hayes et al, Gainsborough, a catalogue of an exhibition at the Grand Palais, Paris 1981 [in French]).
   
   
8. John Hayes, The Landscape Paintings of Thomas Gainsborough, [2 vols], London 1982
   A full catalogue which traces the development of Gainsborough's landscape style and place it in context. The text is of considerable importance for the biography of the artists and for studying his work as a portraitist.
   
   
9. Hugh Belsey, Gainsborough's Family, catalogue of an exhibition of Gainsborough's House, Sudbury 1988.
   A study of the artist's family including family trees. A number of articles in Gainsborough's House Review have corrected and amended genealogical information.
   
   
10. Ann Sumner et al, Gainsborough in Bath, catalogue of an exhibition at the Holburne Museum and Craft Study Centre, Bath 1988
    This catalogue includes a number of essays concerning his work in Bath between 1759 and 1774.
    
    
11. Malcolm Cormack, The Paintings of Thomas Gainsborough, Cambridge 1991
    An introductory essay about the artist's work with 75 colour plates illustrating the scope of his paintings and drawings.
    
    
12. Gainsborough's House Review
    An annual booklet which reports on the activities of the Society, lists its acquisitions and publishes recent research about the artist and his associates.
    

All the works cited above, together with much else, are housed in the library at Gainsborough's House which is generally open to the public by appointment.

Gainsborough's House, 46 Gainsborough Street, Sudbury, Suffolk, UK.
Telephone: (UK) 01787 372958   Fax: (UK) 01787 376991