LONDON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Internationally acclaimed British artist Thomas Gainsborough will be honored with a world class gallery in his birthplace, it was announced.
Works by Gainsborough, who was an artist working in the Georgian era of the mid 18th century, are treasured items in museums across the globe. But while his works appear in the major galleries of Britain, there is no major gallery marking his achievements and chronicling his life.
Gainsborough's home in his birthplace Sudbury in East Anglia has been preserved and operates as a small museum, but it will now be developed into a national center and art gallery, with a 4.5 million pound (about million 5.97 million U.S. dollars) grant announced this week.
The planned five-year project will see a gallery dedicated to the artist's works for the first time.
Gainsborough achieved success in his lifetime with strikingly informal portraits and for his influential landscapes.
Gainsborough's influence can be felt in the work of his contemporary British painters such as his friend John Constable and in later European art movements, like the French Romantics.
The money comes from the British National Lottery, which regularly funds artistic projects across the country.
The clothes designer and artist Nicole Farhi was involved in creating the bid for the lottery funds.
She said: "Gainsborough's House will help disseminate the work of a great British artist. Its ambition will bring both people and prosperity to Sudbury, the town of his birth."
