Frick Collection Examines Thomas Gainsborough's Fashionable Portraiture

The Frick's first exhibition on the 18th-century British artist explores the social significance of fashion in his iconic portraits.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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The Frick Collection in New York is presenting a new exhibition titled "Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture" from February 12 to May 11, 2026. This marks the museum's first show dedicated to the 18th-century British portraitist Thomas Gainsborough, whose wispy yet regal figures have long been fixtures in great British country houses and were highly sought after by American collectors during the Gilded Age. The exhibition, curated by Aimee Ng, the Frick's Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, aims to "reintroduce the artist in a way that acknowledges the complexity of the social world he and his sitters lived in and the role of portraits in that social world." The show explores how fashion was a much broader concept in Gainsborough's time, with strong associations to social class that have been lost to modern audiences.

Why it matters

This exhibition provides a fresh perspective on Thomas Gainsborough's iconic portraiture, highlighting the crucial role that fashion played in 18th-century British society and the social implications of his work. By reexamining Gainsborough's art through the lens of fashion, the Frick hopes to challenge preconceptions about British portraiture and uncover the human stories behind these paintings.

The details

The Frick's "Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture" exhibition will feature more than 10 works by the artist from the museum's own collection, as well as loans from other institutions. Curator Aimee Ng notes that in 18th-century Britain, portraiture was the most popular form of painting and was deeply tied to concepts of fashion, which had very different associations with social class than they do today. The exhibition aims to explore these nuanced understandings of fashion and its role in Gainsborough's portraits.

  • The exhibition will be on view from February 12 through May 11, 2026.
  • The Frick Collection previously staged a show in 2023 featuring the portraits of Barkley L. Hendricks surrounded by Old Master paintings that inspired him.

The players

Frick Collection

A renowned art museum in New York City that houses a renowned collection of Old Master paintings, including more than 10 works by Thomas Gainsborough.

Aimee Ng

The Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator at the Frick Collection, who curated the "Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture" exhibition.

Thomas Gainsborough

An 18th-century British portraitist whose wispy yet regal figures were highly sought after by American collectors during the Gilded Age.

Barkley L. Hendricks

A contemporary American artist whose portraits were featured in a 2023 exhibition at the Frick Collection, surrounded by the Old Master paintings that inspired him.

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What they’re saying

“An 18th-century British painting has, in some ways, come to be seen—at least in this country, and by certain generations—as dusty old pictures of dusty rich people benefiting from colonization and enslaved labor.”

— Aimee Ng, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, Frick Collection (Vogue)

“While this is an indisputable part of this history, and an important part, there are so many human stories to tell about Gainsborough's world and the crucial place and power of portraits in it.”

— Aimee Ng, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, Frick Collection (Vogue)

“The more I dug into concepts of fashion in the 18th century, and Georgian Britain in particular, I was amazed at how fashion was so different conceptually than it is today. It had specific and explicit associations with social class.”

— Aimee Ng, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, Frick Collection (Vogue)

What’s next

The Frick Collection's "Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture" exhibition will open to the public on February 12, 2026 and run through May 11, 2026.

The takeaway

This exhibition at the Frick Collection provides a fresh and nuanced perspective on the iconic portraiture of Thomas Gainsborough, exploring how fashion was deeply intertwined with social class and status in 18th-century Britain. By reexamining these works through this lens, the Frick aims to challenge preconceptions about British art and uncover the complex human stories behind Gainsborough's celebrated paintings.