George Lavington, Bishop of Exeter

Gainsborough's portrait of George Lavington, Bishop of Exeter of around 1750 is one of his early Bath works depicting the church establishment with the formal gravity appropriate to episcopal portraiture. Lavington was a notable eighteenth-century Bishop who wrote against Methodist enthusiasm with combative vigor, and Gainsborough's portrait captures the combination of ecclesiastical dignity and personal assurance that characterized the Georgian Anglican hierarchy. The early Bath portrait demonstrates his developing mastery of the formal male portrait.

The early date is evident in the relatively tight handling, with Gainsborough still developing the fluid brushwork that would become his hallmark. The bishop's vestments are rendered with careful attention to fabric texture, while the face shows the influence of Dutch portraiture that shaped Gainsborough's early manner.