Sarah Dupont

Provenance

Presumably painted for Philip Dupont, husband of the sitter and the artist’s brother-in-law (died 1788), Sudbury; by descent to his grandson Richard Gainsborough Dupont (died 1874), also of Sudbury, by 1856 [Fulcher 1856]; sold with his collection, Wheeler and Westoby, Sudbury, May 29, 1874, no. 127, as “Mrs. Philip Dupont, wife of the above [no. 126]”, to J.H. Chance for 36 gns. [label on the picture’s stretcher, the price given in an annotated copy of the catalogue at Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury, the buyer in Graves 1918, p. 328; the supposed pendant, no. 126 in the sale and described as “Philip Dupont, the artist’s nephew [sic]” was also acquired by Chance and is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, but see Warner 1996]; J. H. Chance, to at least 1887 [Ipswich 1887]. Probably William Carr (died 1925), Ditchingham Hall, Norfolk [in a letter of August 22, 1993 in curatorial file, his granddaughter, Countess Ferrers, suggested that he acquired it when he enlarged Ditchingham Hall about 1911]. His son, Brigadier William Greenwood Carr, D.S.O., Ditchingham Hall (died 1982), certainly by 1955 [annotated photograph in the Ellis Waterhouse archive, Paul Mellon Center, London]; by descent to his daughter, Annabel Mary, Countess Ferrers. Richard L. Feigen and Co., New York, by 1986; sold to the Art Institute, 1987.

Sarah Dupont

Thomas Gainsborough

c. 1777–79

Accession Number

105600

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

77.2 × 64.5 cm (30 3/8 × 25 3/8 in.); Framed: 95.3 × 84.5 × 8.9 cm (37 1/2 × 33 1/4 × 3 1/2 in.)

Classification

oil on canvas

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection; through prior gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Denison B. Hull, Mr. and Mrs. William Kimball, and Mrs. Charles McCulloch

Background & Context

Background Story

Thomas Gainsborough's Sarah Dupont is a portrait by the great English painter. Gainsborough (1727-1788) was one of the most important British portraitists, known for his elegant, fluid style.

Cultural Impact

Gainsborough was one of the greatest English portrait painters.

Why It Matters

This portrait captures the elegance of Gainsborough's style.