The Blue Boy

The Blue Boy is an oil painting by Thomas Gainsborough. It was painted about 1770. The boy in the picture might be Jonathan Buttall, the son of a hardware merchant. The boy wears a 17th-century suit. The painting is large. It is 48 inches (1,200 mm) wide by 70 inches (1,800 mm) tall. 

The painting belonged to Jonathan Buttall until 1796. It was then sold many times. In 1921 it was sold to an art dealer. An American bought the painting from the dealer. The portrait is now in the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Pinkie is a famous painting which hangs near it. 

 References 
 Conisbee, Philip. The Ones That Got Away, essay from Saved! 100 Years of the National Art Collection Fund (2003, ed. Richard Verdi). London: Scala
 Conlin, Jonathan (2006). The Nation's Mantelpiece: A history of the National Gallery. London: Pallas Athene
 Tyler, David. Jonathan Buttall in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004). Oxford: Oxford University Press

Other websites

Category:1770s paintings
Category:Paintings by Thomas Gainsborough
Category:San Marino, California