Thomas Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy, a well-known painting in Britain, will return to the UK after a century.
The work will be temporarily shown at the National Gallery in London from January 25, 2022 – 100 years after it left the UK when it was sold to a US businessman in 1922.
Gainsborough’s masterpiece shows an adolescent in a blue satin suit standing against a country landscape backdrop. The subject is believed to be Jonathan Buttall, the son of a wealthy merchant.
The painting was once owned by the Duke of Westminster. It made its first public appearance in 1770 at the Royal Academy. Though originally titled A Portrait of a Young Gentleman, the nickname The Blue Boy began to gain popularity in 1798.
It was eventually sold to American railway businessman Henry E Huntington for $728,000. The National Gallery held a farewell show for the work in 1922 that brought in 90,000 visitors over three weeks.
The work has since been part of Huntington Art Gallery's collection in San Marino, California, and has not been loaned to any institution until now.
The Blue Boy has been referenced in various Hollywood films, including Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, wherein the protagonist, played by Jamie Foxx, wears a similar blue outfit.
In an interview with the BBC, National Gallery director Gabriele Finaldi said the work shows Gainsborough at “his dazzling best”.
“The loan of Gainsborough's The Blue Boy to the National Gallery is truly exceptional and a unique opportunity for visitors,” he said.
“Rich in historical resonances, a painting of supreme poise and elegance, The Blue Boy is without doubt a masterpiece of British art.”
The painting will be on view at the National Gallery from January to May 2022.
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
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Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
