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Notes
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The two little girls in this unfinished portrait are Mary and Margaret, Gainsborough’s daughters by his wife, Margaret Burr, and their only children to survive infancy. Mary was baptised on 3 February 1750 and Margaret on 22 August 1751. Mary was given the name of the couple’s first daughter, who died at about 18 months old. Margaret and Mary run hand-in-hand through dark woodland in pursuit of a cabbage white butterfly, which has landed momentarily on a tall thistle. Margaret reaches out her hand, while Mary clutches her looped-up muslin apron as a net. The children’s attempt to catch the elusive butterfly may be intended to suggest the fleeting nature of childhood, and the fragility of children’s lives. The wood in Gainsborough’s picture is dark and sombre.
Title
The Painter's Daughters chasing a Butterfly
Date
probably about 1756
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 113.5 x W 105 cm
Accession number
NG1811
Acquisition method
Henry Vaughan Bequest, 1900
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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