On the weekend of October 14-16, 2022 for Brandywine Baroque under the direction of Karen Flint of Wilmington, Delaware, John Burkhalter, Practitioner of Musick and Independent Scholar, presented the illustrated lecture “Gainsborough and His Circle of Musical Friends.” Gainsborough’s varied musical interests are reflected in both his correspondence and his paintings. His younger daughter, Margaret, once remarked that her father was… “led much into the company of musicians, with whom he often exceeded the bounds of temperance…being occasionally unable to work for a week afterwards.”
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) is considered one of the most important British artists of the 18th century and was himself an accomplished musician playing both the harpsichord and the bass viol. He entertained an illustrious group of musical friends including John Christian Bach, Charles Frederick Abel, members of the Linley family, and John Christian Fischer, amongst many others. Fischer, an acclaimed oboe virtuoso, was also Gainsborough’s son in law having married the artist’s elder daughter, Mary.
A fast friend, the actor David Garrick, described Gainsborough as … “being crammed with genius”.
For further information please visit the Brandywine Baroque website.