A triple portrait
The painting shows the Andrewses' land as well as the couple. They may have asked for it to be shown.
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Mr and Mrs Andrews
Thomas Gainsborough · c. 1750
painting · Rococo painting
Look closer
Select a detail to locate it.
Robert and Frances Andrews married in 1748, and this is their portrait. It is a triple portrait of husband, wife and their land, and the estate it shows lies near Sudbury. The Andrewses may have asked for their land to be shown.
Details
Look at the fields as carefully as the faces, since the land is a sitter too. Then find the pale patch in Mrs Andrews's lap, which was left unpainted and has been a puzzle ever since.
In its time
c. 1750
Books from this period
Where it hangs
National Gallery
In context
Married in 1748
Robert and Frances Andrews married in 1748. Their estate in the picture lies near Sudbury.
The empty lap
A patch in Mrs Andrews's lap was left unpainted.
On these book covers
Book covers use a cropped detail.