Gainsborough's Blue Boy
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Christine Riding, with contributions by Susanna Avery-Quash, Melinda McCurdy, Imogen Tedbury and Jacqueline Riding
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Format: PB-with FlapsPrice: $20.00
This richly illustrated publication explores the lasting influence of Gainsborough’s Blue Boy on British art and culture
Marking the return of Gainsborough’s Blue Boy to the UK exactly 100 years since it left for the United States, this richly illustrated publication will explore the lasting influence of this iconic painting on British art and culture. During the nineteenth century, the painting’s fame grew and full-length portraits by Gainsborough and his contemporaries became much sought after by wealthy American collectors. The sale of The Blue Boy to the American railroad magnate and collector Henry E. Huntington in 1921 was unsurprisingly viewed as a national tragedy—emblematic of a shift in economic and cultural power. However, its afterlife, as a permanent ambassador for British art, has undoubtedly fed into ideas of Britain and Britishness—its history, society, culture and character—that still resonate today. Including a select group of paintings that demonstrate the profound influence of Sir Anthony van Dyck and the old master tradition on Gainsborough’s practice and identity, Gainsborough’s Blue Boy will examine this masterpiece within the context of the National Gallery’s collection.
Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
The National Gallery, London
January 25–May 15, 2022
Christine Riding is the Jacob Rothschild Head of the Curatorial Department and Curator of British Paintings at the National Gallery, London.
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
The National Gallery, London
January 25–May 15, 2022
Publication Date: March 29, 2022
Publishing Partner: Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
60 color illus.
