The Frick Debuts First NYC Exhibition Devoted to Gainsborough Portraits

The exhibition features 25 works that explore the interplay between portraiture and fashion in 18th-century Britain.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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The Frick Collection in New York City is hosting its first exhibition solely dedicated to the portraits of renowned British artist Thomas Gainsborough. The exhibition, titled "Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture," features 25 works, including 22 loans from lenders in North America and the U.K. The show explores how Gainsborough used fabric, texture, and silhouette as tools of identity in his portraits, which ranged from royalty to relatives and friends, including the only known portrait by Gainsborough of a Black sitter, Ignatius Sancho.

Why it matters

This exhibition provides a rare opportunity for New York audiences to see a comprehensive collection of Gainsborough's portraiture work, as it is the first exhibition in the city devoted solely to the artist's portraits. The Frick's focus on the interplay between fashion and portraiture also sheds new light on Gainsborough's artistic techniques and the social context of 18th-century Britain.

The details

The exhibition features 25 Gainsborough portraits, with 22 on loan from 17 lenders in North America and the U.K. Three of the works are from the Frick's permanent collection. The portraits span Gainsborough's clientele, from royalty to relatives and friends, including the king and queen of England, the artist's wife and nephew, and the abolitionist and composer Ignatius Sancho, who was the only known Black sitter Gainsborough painted. The exhibition situates these portraits within the context of 18th-century fashion, highlighting how Gainsborough used fabric, texture, and silhouette as tools of identity in his work.

  • The exhibition 'Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture' is on view at The Frick Collection through May 25, 2026.
  • The Frick mansion, which houses the museum, reopened in April 2025 after a years-long renovation.

The players

The Frick Collection

An art museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, housed in the former residence of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick.

Thomas Gainsborough

A renowned British artist of the 18th century, known for his portraits that explored the interplay between portraiture and fashion.

Aimee Ng

The Peter Jay Sharp chief curator at The Frick Collection and the organizer of the 'Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture' exhibition.

Ignatius Sancho

A servant who was also a composer, writer, and abolitionist, and the only known Black sitter that Gainsborough painted.

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What they’re saying

“You can always kind of recognize a Gainsborough because there's this sinewy, sort of — it's been called the gossamer web of paint — that was, even in his own life, people were talking about how no one could paint like he could paint.”

— Aimee Ng, Peter Jay Sharp chief curator at The Frick Collection (ny1.com)

“He's the only Black sitter that Gainsborough painted that we know of, and actually this is probably the only portrait of a servant by a major artist in the 18th century in Britain that we know of. But of course, Gainsborough was not showing him as a servant. He was showing Sancho as a gentleman.”

— Aimee Ng, Peter Jay Sharp chief curator at The Frick Collection (ny1.com)

What’s next

The Frick Collection is hosting a series of programs and events to coincide with the 'Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture' exhibition, which runs through May 25, 2026.

The takeaway

This exhibition at the Frick Collection provides a rare opportunity for New Yorkers to see a comprehensive collection of Thomas Gainsborough's renowned portraiture work, which offers unique insights into 18th-century British fashion and society through the artist's masterful use of texture, silhouette, and identity.