Katherine Jones RA: Fine Ladies and Gentle Men
3 May – 19 October 2025

This summer, Gainsborough’s House will display brand new works by Brixton-based artist and printmaker Katherine Jones, RA (b.1979) in her first solo museum show.

Katherine Jones April 2022 by Josephine Dixon

Fine Ladies and Gentle Men will feature a varied selection of prints and small panel paintings, including new prints that respond to one of Britain’s most innovative painters, Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788).

The works inhibit a particular floral focus as Jones depicts plants and flowers, including the 400-year-old black mulberry tree situated in the gardens of Gainsborough’s House. This has inspired a large four-panel print featuring overlapping leaf motifs, part of a series of works that investigate nature’s perpetual renewal.

In these works, Jones draws a parallel between the sitters of Gainsborough’s 18th-century society portraits who are showing off their finery and accoutrements of style, with the plants that do the same to attract pollinators. Through the face of a pansy or the throat of a lily, Jones’s unique take will provide a rich and challenging contrast to the eighteenth-century collection.

Dust to Pigment, Katherine Jones, edition variable e/v of 15 collagraph and hand colouring on 300gsm Somerset paper, 88.7 cm x 71 cm full bleed, 2023

In Year after Year (2024) a row of daffodils open up their petals and coronas to expose the anthers and stigma, while the title refers to the cyclical nature of this action. Sun Scorch (2024) gives the viewer an up-close and extreme view of a French flower, much as a bee would see when attracted, while Dust to Pigment Morning (2023) depicts flowers from Chelsea Physic Garden through a painterly inking process.

Sun Scorch, Katherine Jones, 24.6 × 32.4 x 3.00 cms (12.76 x 9.69 x 1.18ins) oil and acrylic on wood panel, 2024

Fine Ladies and Gentle Men is Jones’s first solo exhibition in a museum setting. It follows her recent election to the Royal Academy, one of the youngest ever artists to be selected in modern times, acknowledging her innovative approach to printmaking. Her prints are included in major international collections, from UK institutions such as the V&A and Ashmolean Museum, to Yale University in the US and the Guangdong Museum in China.

Year after Year, Katherine Jones, 45 x 34.8 cms (17.72 x 13.70 ins), Collagraph on 300gsm Somerset paper Edition 25, 2024

Artist Katherine Jones, RA, said: “Having a connection to Gainsborough’s House has given me an insight into the artist’s fascinating life story and a new appreciation for the deftness, lucidity and humour in his paintings. I look forward to working in the house and garden during the exhibition as well as in the GH print studio alongside fellow artists and visitors to the space.”

Calvin Winner, Director at Gainsborough’s House, said: “We are delighted to present the work of Katherine Jones RA in what constitutes her first-ever museum exhibition.

“Katherine has established an exciting and dynamic practice across both painting and printmaking, forging unexpected and thought-provoking connections with the art of Thomas Gainsborough. In addition, Katherine has also drawn inspiration from the historic garden at the artists home, particularly its remarkable 400-year-old veteran mulberry tree.

“As one of the most innovative printmakers working today, Katherine’s work is a perfect fit for Gainsborough’s House, home to a vibrant Print Workshop run by and for artists. Showcasing her work alongside our talented artist community makes this exhibition especially rewarding.”

Emma Boyd, Gainsborough’s House, Keeper of Art and Place, said: “We are excited to reveal this new body of work by Katherine Jones in conversation with the 18th-century portraits at Gainsborough’s House.”