The careers of the two leading painters in Britain during the eighteenth century — Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds — form a striking contrast. The differences perhaps stem from aspects of character and personality, but they also incorporate such issues as artistic outlook and practice. Like many other famous figures of the eighteenth century - Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Oliver Goldsmith, Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Charles Burney, R.B. Sheridan - both painters were born in the regions but settled in London. Reynolds was quick to appreciate the significance of London, whereas Gainsborough met with his first real success in Bath (in essence a social outpost of London) before finally deciding to live in the metropolis.

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