Four 'exceptionally rare' paintings to be displayed

A portrait of Elizabeth Tugwell will be displayed at No.1 Royal Crescent alongside a painting of her husband Humphrey and sons William and Thomas

Four "exceptionally rare" 18th Century paintings will be presented at an exhibition in Bath.

Bath Preservation Trust has successfully acquired the Thomas Gainsborough paintings of the Tugwell family under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, which will go on display in September at No.1 Royal Crescent.

The paintings depict four members of the Tugwell family from provincial Bradford on Avon: Clothier Humphrey Tugwell, his wife Elizabeth and their sons William and Thomas.

Senior curator for Bath Preservation Trust, Dr Amy Frost, said rarely will a set of four portraits of members of the same family by Thomas Gainsborough "survive together".

She said: "Few comparable sets of portraits by Gainsborough survive, making these pre-eminent depictions of middle-class sitters and ones with strong local significance to the story of Bath and Bradford-on-Avon."

The Thomas Gainsborough paintings will be key components of the kaleidoscopic group exhibition, Being There.

The exhibition will invite visitors to reflect on the experience of artists and their sitters or subject in the act of making the artwork.

A portrait of Thomas Tugwell, son of Clothier Humphrey Tugwell and his wife Elizabeth

Patrizia Ribul , the director of museums for Bath Preservation Trust said: "Thomas Gainsborough would have been living in Bath at the time he undertook the Tugwell commissions, so it is fantastic that we now have the opportunity to display them here in the heart of the city."

Michael Clarke CBE, the chair of the acceptance in lieu panel said: "These portraits of Tugwell, his wife, and two of their children will greatly enhance the collection at No.1 Royal Crescent."

The exhibition in The Gallery at No.1 Royal Crescent will be open to the public from 14 September 2024 to 23 February 2025.