Why is Gainsborough's 'Blue Boy' so famous?

100 years after leaving the UK, find out why 'The Blue Boy' remains one of the nation's favourites

Christine Riding, the Jacob Rothschild Head of the Curatorial Department and Curator of British Paintings, explains all in this short talk about 'Gainsborough's Blue Boy':

Image: Detail from Thomas Gainsborough, 'The Blue Boy', 1770 © Courtesy of The Huntington, San Marino, California

Gainsborough's Blue Boy

25 January – 15 May 2022

For the first time in a century, Gainsborough's iconic portrait returned to the UK

More about Blue Boy

Curator's introduction

Gainsborough's Blue Boy

Christine Riding, the Jacob Rothschild Head of the Curatorial Department, introduces the exhibition in this recorded live talk

Video

Gainsborough's 'Blue Boy'

Picture of the month February 2022

Art historian Dan Vo looks at the queer history of Gainsborough's ‘Blue Boy’ for LGBTQ+ History Month

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Gainsborough, Van Dyck and the Old Masters

The story of British Art

Discover the influence of European artists through the ages and how they helped shape Gainsborough and his approach to portraiture and landscapes.

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