Portrait of Selina Thistlethwayte of Norman Court, full-length in blue and white dress

Gainsborough's Portrait of Selina Thistlethwayte of Norman Court of around 1778 depicts a member of the Hampshire landed gentry with the luminous elegance that characterized his Bath and early London female portraits. The Thistlethwaytes were an established country family, and Gainsborough's portrait creates the characteristic image of English aristocratic femininity — the fresh complexion, the graceful pose, the fashionable dress rendered in his characteristically feathery brushwork — that made his portraits so sought after by the gentry.

The full-length format allows Gainsborough to integrate figure and landscape in a flowing composition, the blue and white dress echoing the sky and clouds beyond. His characteristic long, feathery brushstrokes animate both the foliage and the fabric, creating a unified visual rhythm.