![]() The seated boy has been identified as Jack Hill, a beggar boy Gainsborough had met in Richmond (Whitley 1915), and whom he also depicted in another fancy piece in the Museum's collection (89.15.8). More recently there has been a shift in the scholarly literature, and they have been read as a commentary on the poverty and pious industry of the landless poor (Barrell 1980). Such works were known as fancy pieces and enjoyed high praise and high prices in Gainsborough's lifetime later, however, they gradually fell from favor with audiences who found them sentimental and condescending. beautifully romantic" into which the artist had introduced three "charming little objects cannot be viewed without the sensations of tenderness and pleasure, and an interest for their humble fate" (quoted in Whitley 1915, p. ![]() ![]() In November 1787, after a visit to Gainsborough’s studio, Henry Bate described the present work in the following terms: "A landscape of uncommon merit. ![]()
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