Born in Sudbury, Suffolk, to John Gainsborough, a clothier, and Mary Burroughs. Growing up amid East Anglian countryside and trade culture, he developed an early fascination with drawing and rural scenery.

As a teenager he moved to London to pursue formal artistic training and exposure to metropolitan taste. The city’s print shops, theaters, and academies sharpened his eye for composition and fashionable portrait style.

He trained with the French engraver Hubert-Francois Gravelot, absorbing Rococo elegance and a refined line. This grounding in design and theatrical grace later informed the poses and costumes of his portraits.

He engaged with the St Martin's Lane Academy, a lively artists’ association linked to William Hogarth. The group encouraged drawing from life and experimentation, helping him develop an independent, painterly touch.

He married Margaret Burr, who brought an annuity that eased early career pressures. The security allowed him to focus on painting rather than relying solely on uncertain commissions and speculative sales.

He moved back to Sudbury to build a reputation among Suffolk gentry and merchants. Portrait commissions supported him, while he continued to paint landscapes inspired by familiar lanes, hedgerows, and fields.

He produced 'Mr and Mrs Andrews,' combining a stylish double portrait with a meticulously observed estate landscape. The painting reflects Georgian landownership and taste, linking identity to place and property.

Seeking broader patronage, he set up in Ipswich, a busy port town with prosperous families. There he refined his portrait business while continuing to pursue landscape as a private passion and artistic laboratory.

He moved to Bath, then Britain’s most fashionable spa, frequented by nobility and wealthy visitors. The city’s social scene provided steady high-paying commissions and pushed him toward full-length, elegant portraits.

His Bath studio became known for fluent paint handling and flattering likenesses for the Georgian elite. Competition with artists such as Joshua Reynolds raised the stakes and helped define modern British portraiture.

He joined the newly founded Royal Academy of Arts in London, a key institution shaping British artistic prestige. Academy exhibitions increased his reach, even as he sometimes bristled at its politics and hierarchy.

He relocated to London to secure the most influential sitters and court-connected patrons. Operating near the art market’s center brought greater fame, but also intensified pressure to prioritize portraiture over landscapes.

He received commissions connected to King George III and Queen Charlotte, enhancing his standing among Britain’s ruling class. Royal patronage confirmed him as a leading painter of the Georgian era’s public image.

In the early 1780s he showed portraits with increasingly airy brushwork and shimmering fabric effects. The approach balanced likeness with atmosphere, making sitters appear animated by light rather than heavy modeling.

He painted the iconic full-length portrait often called 'The Blue Boy,' showcasing bravura handling of satin and cool blues. The work conversed with older masters like Anthony van Dyck while asserting a modern British voice.

Frustrated by hanging decisions and Academy politics, he stopped exhibiting there and showed works independently. The episode highlights his independent temperament and desire to control presentation to the public and patrons.

He died in London after a period of declining health, leaving a major legacy in portrait and landscape painting. He was buried at St Anne’s Church, Kew, remembered for musical brushwork and poetic naturalism.