Where Is The Blue Boy? See It at The Huntington

Q: Where can I see The Blue Boy?

It's at The Huntington in San Marino, California. Thomas Gainsborough painted it around 1770. Henry Huntington purchased it in 1921 for $728,000 from the Duke of Westminster's collection.

Q: Who is The Blue Boy?

The traditional identification is Jonathan Buttall, the son of a prosperous ironmonger and a friend of Gainsborough. He wears a 17th-century Van Dyck-style costume in shimmering blue satin, not contemporary 1770s clothing. The anachronistic dress was a tribute to Anthony van Dyck's portraits.

Q: Why is the painting famous?

It became a cultural icon in Britain and its sale to an American collector in 1921 was treated as a national loss. 90,000 people lined up at the National Gallery to see it before it left England. It represents the pinnacle of 18th-century British portraiture.

Q: How big is The Blue Boy?

It measures 178 cm × 112 cm (70.1 × 44.1 inches). The blue costume dominates the canvas. Legend says Gainsborough painted it to disprove rival Joshua Reynolds's claim that blue shouldn't dominate a composition. Whether or not that's true, the blue certainly works.

Q: What art movement is this?

It belongs to the British portrait tradition of the 18th century, with influences from Baroque masters like Van Dyck and Rubens. Gainsborough's loose, feathery brushwork and atmospheric landscape background distinguish him from the more formal Reynolds.

Thomas Gainsborough painted The Blue Boy around 1770, dressing his subject in 17th-century costume as a tribute to Anthony van Dyck. The identity of the sitter remains uncertain. For generations, scholars assumed it was Jonathan Buttall, a hardware merchant's son who owned the painting early on. Recent research suggests Gainsborough's nephew Gainsborough Dupont may have posed instead.

The painting established itself as one of the most famous English portraits. When the Duke of Westminster sold it to California railroad magnate Henry Huntington in 1921 for $728,000, Britain mourned. The National Gallery displayed it for a farewell viewing; 90,000 people came. Director Charles Holmes scrawled "Au Revoir, C.H." on the back of the canvas.

The oil-on-linen painting measures 179 by 125 centimeters and now hangs at The Huntington in San Marino, California, paired with Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie. X-rays reveal Gainsborough painted over an incomplete portrait of an older man, and a dog was edited out in favor of rocky ground.

It's at The Huntington in San Marino, California. Thomas Gainsborough painted it around 1770. Henry Huntington purchased it in 1921 for $728,000 from the Duke of Westminster's collection.

The traditional identification is Jonathan Buttall, the son of a prosperous ironmonger and a friend of Gainsborough. He wears a 17th-century Van Dyck-style costume in shimmering blue satin, not contemporary 1770s clothing. The anachronistic dress was a tribute to Anthony van Dyck's portraits.

It became a cultural icon in Britain and its sale to an American collector in 1921 was treated as a national loss. 90,000 people lined up at the National Gallery to see it before it left England. It represents the pinnacle of 18th-century British portraiture.

It measures 178 cm × 112 cm (70.1 × 44.1 inches). The blue costume dominates the canvas. Legend says Gainsborough painted it to disprove rival Joshua Reynolds's claim that blue shouldn't dominate a composition. Whether or not that's true, the blue certainly works.

It belongs to the British portrait tradition of the 18th century, with influences from Baroque masters like Van Dyck and Rubens. Gainsborough's loose, feathery brushwork and atmospheric landscape background distinguish him from the more formal Reynolds.

The Blue Boy

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Thomas Gainsborough

An Unknown Couple in a Landscape

St. Mary's Church Hadleigh

Mr. and Mrs. John Gravenor and their Daughters, Elizabeth and Ann

Landscape with Sandpit

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Reclining Girl

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Diana Leaving the Bath

Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat

About The Blue Boy

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