Complementing the works by Constable in Christchurch Mansion’s Wolsey Art Gallery are several by another great Suffolk artist, Thomas Gainsborough (1727 – 1788). Gainsborough moved to Ipswich in 1752 and began to establish himself as a portrait painter.
Highlights of the Gainsborough Collection
The Ipswich collection of Gainsboroughs consists of:
- Holywells Park, Ipswich
c.1748-50 Oil on canvas - A Pool in the Wood
1753 Oil on canvas - Wooded Landscape with Gipsies round a Camp Fire (The Gypsies)
1759 (original etching c.1753-4) - A Country Cart crossing a Ford
Oil on canvas - William Wollaston
(1730 - 1797), c.1759, oil on canvas
In addition, there are several drawings by Constable and Gainsborough contained in a special case in the Mansion. Gainsborough’s Cottage Door with Girl and Pigs is on loan to the Netherlands.