Gainsborough's Blue Boy, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
- Subject
- Portraits
- Card type
- Lithograph
About this postcard
Gainsborough's full-length portrait shows a boy in a blue satin suit with a white lace collar, a dark hat at his side, standing before a landscape of trees and a clouded sky. The caption names him Master Jonathan Buttall, the son of a wealthy London merchant and a friend of the painter's family; the identification is traditional rather than certain. Gainsborough painted the picture around 1770, and it became one of the best known works of English portraiture. Henry E. Huntington bought the painting in 1921 and placed it in the library and art gallery he had founded at San Marino, California, where it became the most popular attraction in a collection strong in British portraits. Reproductions like this one carried its image to visitors and to a wider public.
Postcard Details
No address detected
Postcard record
| Publisher | Arthur Jaffé Inc. |
|---|---|
| Series | Cat. no. 21 |
| Condition | Excellent |
| Place mentioned | Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino, CA |
| Publisher | New York, NY |
| Notes | White border around image. No postmark. Undivided back (printed heading "POST CARD"; "THIS SIDE FOR ADDRESS" only), white border, glossy color art reproduction. No stamp, no address, no handwritten message; dealer pencil mark "#59" bottom right; additional mark "1-". Caption: Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino, California; "THE BLUE BOY" (Master Jonathan Buttall), portrait by Thomas Gainsborough; copyright. Series: Cat. no. 21. Printed by Arthur Jaffé Inc., New York City, U.S.A. |
Cite this card
Gainsborough's Blue Boy, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, postcard, n.d.. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/gainsboroughs-blue-boy-huntington-library-san-marino-ca. Accessed November 2, 2026.