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Thomas Gainsborough: The Boy in Blue

Exhibition January 18 − May 15, 2022
The National Gallery in London presents the exhibition "Gainsborough: The Boy in Blue.".

In the winter of 1922, Gainsborough's painting The Blue Boy hung in the gallery for three weeks before it sailed across the Atlantic to its new home in California. It was a public farewell to a beloved painting. 100 years later, Gainsborough's masterpiece returns to the gallery to be exhibited again in Trafalgar Square.

"The Blue Boy" represents one of the finest works of 18th-century British art. It is Gainsborough's eloquent response to Van Dyck's legacy and great portrait style. It is Gainsborough's proud demonstration of what a painter can achieve. The painting's popularity and influence have made it an icon, quoted by contemporary artists and mentioned in Hollywood films. After exactly 100 years, this exhibition reunites The Blue Boy with the British public and with the paintings that inspired the artist. This is the first time a painting has been on loan--a once-in-a-century opportunity to see an iconic work in Britain.

Prepared according to the materials of the website National Gallery, London.