Thomas Gainsborough FRSA (May 14, 1727 (baptized) – August 2, 1788) is an English portrait and landscape painter, draftsman, and printmaker.

He surpasses his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds to become the dominant British portraitist of the second half of the eighteenth century.

He paints quickly, and the works of his maturity are characterized by a light palette and easy strokes.

He prefers landscapes to portraits, and is credited (with Richard Wilson) as the originator of the eighteenth-century British landscape school.

Gainsborough is a founding member of the Royal Academy.