Term 'Fancies' first used 1737 by art chronicler George Vertue to describe paintings by Mercier of scenes of everyday life, but with elements of imagination, invention or storytelling. Typical titles were Venetian Girl at a Window or series The Five Senses. Popularised through engraved copies. Name 'fancy pictures' given by Reynolds to the supreme examples of the genre produced by Gainsborough in the decade before his death in 1788, featuring peasant or beggar children in particular.