New conservation reveals lost details of intimate Gainsborough portrait

A stunning oval portrait by Thomas Gainsborough of his nephew and apprentice, Gainsborough Dupont, has been cleaned by the National Portrait Gallery conservation studios to reveal the artist’s original brushwork and vibrant colours. This is the first time in over 100 years this painting has been lent from its home at Waddesdon Manor, and was conserved especially for the forthcoming exhibition Gainsborough’s Family Album, opening at the National Portrait Gallery London on 22 November. It was only identified as a portrait of Dupont in 2003 by Susan Sloman, author of Gainsborough in Bath and a contributor to the book accompanying Gainsborough’s Family Album. This portrait offers a magnificent display of Gainsborough’s talent. Inspired by Van Dyck, Gainsborough has transformed the teenage son of a humble Suffolk carpenter into a gilded youth who looks as if he had stepped straight out of the court of Charles I. At the