Mrs. Grace Dalrymple Elliott (1754?–1823)  1778

In 1774 Gainsborough moved to London, and by 1777 he was exhibiting portraits of members of the royal family at the Royal Academy. This full-length of the statuesque Mrs. Elliott—a Scottish lady of great beauty but easy virtue—was apparently commissioned by her lover, the first marquis of Cholmondeley, and was shown in 1778. Its elegance, delicate golden coloring, and flui...