Gainsborough by William Vaughan

The subject of a future exhibition at Tate Britain, Gainsborough is placed in the premier division of British artists (alongside Hogarth, Turner and Constable) in this perceptive monograph. Vaughan substantiates his claim by reassessing Gainsborough's innovative landscapes and exploring the three phases of his portraiture – squires in his native Suffolk, beauties in Bath, royalty in London – while acknowledging his debts (The Blue Boy was a straight pinch from Van Dyck). The most touching portraits are of the artist's family – his devoted but stodgy wife and his daughters, so delightful in childhood, though unstable in maturity.