It was the most famous painting in the world. Now back in London after exactly 100 years

It was for a time the most famous painting in the world. And now the Blue Boy, a work by Thomas Gainsborough (Sudbury, 1727 - London, 1788), is returning to London after exactly one hundred years, or a century since the work hung on the walls of the National Gallery for three weeks in the winter of 1922 before crossing the Atlantic to its new home in California. The museum had wanted to pay homage to a painting much loved by the British with that greeting. It was January 25, 2022 when the work left. And on January 25, 2022, the painting will return to London: it will remain there until May 15.

The work, in fact, had been purchased the previous year by U.S. railroad and real estate entrepreneur Henry E. Huntington, and The Blue Boy had been displayed at the National Gallery on the last stop of a farewell tour. The work had also become very famous largely because of the price Huntington shelled out to grab it when its owner, the second Duke of Westminster, put it up for sale: $728,000 (about $12 million today, or about 10.6 million euros), making it the most expensive work ever at that date. During the three-week exhibition in Trafalgar Square, 90,000 visitors went to see the painting before it left for California. Before he left, the then director of the National Gallery, Charles Holmes, wrote “au revoir” on the back of the painting in the hope that the painting might return someday. Now Holmes’ dream has come true as the painting, which has remained in the Huntington family collections and is now on display at the Huntington Art Museum located in San Marino, California, is being loaned to the gallery for an exceptional free exhibition.

The painting’s popularity and influence have made it an icon, cited by contemporary artists including Kehinde Wiley (who will be exhibiting at the National Gallery at the same time) and also referenced in Hollywood films. The Blue Boy has never been lent and is unlikely to be lent again, according to the National Gallery. The painting represents one of the pinnacles of 19th-century British art and is Gainsborough’s eloquent response to the legacy of Antoon van Dyck (1599-1641) and grand style portraiture. The exhibition, titled Gainsborough’s Blue Boy, free of charge and housed in Room 46 of the museum not only brings a British icon back to England, but also brings together paintings from the National Gallery and other collections, including a group of paintings that demonstrate Van Dyck’s profound influence on Gainsborough’s practice and identity.

The painting, a canvas at. child’s size, sees the young subject dressed in a striking blue suit; he is bright-eyed but at the same time serious, shy and direct. The identity of the Blue Boy is uncertain, but nevertheless he has been considered almost a symbol of boys and childhood, and also for that reason he has achieved great popularity in the past, having moreover been reproduced in widely circulated prints and publications and having been the subject of countless copies and interpretations by other artists over the centuries. According to the National Gallery, in essence, the Blue Boy has become one of Britain’s most beloved sons.

“The loan of Gainsborough’s Blue Boy to the National Gallery is truly exceptional and a unique opportunity for visitors to see Gainsborough at his best,” points out Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery. “Rich in historical resonance, a painting of supreme poise and elegance, The Blue Boy is undoubtedly a masterpiece of British art.”

“This masterpiece,” says Karen R. Lawrence, president of the Huntington Museum, “has left an indelible mark on both art history and popular culture, capturing the imagination of a wide range of viewers. Given the iconicity of The Blue Boy, this is an unprecedented loan that we have considered very carefully. We hope that this partnership with the National Gallery will spark new conversations, appreciation, and research on both sides of the Atlantic.”

It was the most famous painting in the world. Now back in London after exactly 100 years

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