Landscape with Stream and Weir

The young Thomas Gainsborough trained with Francis Hayman in London before returning to his native Suffolk in about 1748. In prosperous Ipswich he found a market for landscapes and small portraits (one of which is shown nearby). His earliest landscapes, of which this is an outstanding example, were derived from his careful observation of nature and heavily influenced by the Dutch tradition. The views themselves were almost always imaginary rather than representing particular places and were often painted as decorative overmantels. This picture was acquired by the London silversmith and art dealer Panton "Panny" Betew, a friend of William Hogarth. Betew made a habit of buying work by talented young artists and sold Gainsborough's drawings from the window of his London shop. It was engraved in 1764 before being cut down on the left-hand side, which has given the picture its current square shape.

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016