A hundred years to the day since it was removed from the National Gallery in London and shipped to a new home in California, Thomas Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy returns to London, loaned for the first time ever by the Huntington (25 January–15 May). Alongside this enigmatic portrait – which during the 19th century became a household name in the UK – are a selection of archival photographs showing its farewell display in London and its arrival in California, as well as other portraits by Gainsborough and by his idol, Anthony van Dyck. Find out more from the National Gallery’s website.
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The Blue Boy (1770), Thomas Gainsborough. Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino.
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1628–87) and Lord Francis Villiers (1629–48) (1635), Anthony van Dyck. Royal Collection Trust. © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2021
The Blue Boy arrives in Los Angeles in 1922 – photograph from the Los Angeles Bureau. Courtesy of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California
s54 Gainsborough’s Blue Boy at the National Gallery in 1922. Courtesy of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California
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