Portrait of Ann Ford (later Mrs.Philip Thicknesse)

Portrait of Ann Ford (later Mrs. Philip Thicknesse), painted in 1760 and held at the Cincinnati Art Museum, is one of Gainsborough’s most unconventional portraits. Ann Ford (1737–1824), a professional musician, is shown in a daringly informal pose, her legs crossed and her viola da gamba resting beside her. The portrait’s provocative composition scandalized contemporary viewers but demonstrated Gainsborough’s willingness to break portrait conventions to capture a sitter’s individual personality. Ford’s musical talent connected her to Gainsborough’s own passionate interest in music. The painting represents Gainsborough’s most radical early challenge to the formal portrait tradition.

Gainsborough arranges the full-length figure in an unusually relaxed, asymmetrical pose that challenged portrait conventions. The crossed legs and leaning posture give the composition a modernity and informality that distinguish it from the stiff formality of contemporary portraits.