“Project Blue Boy” installation view | Photo by Fredrik Nilsen Studio/The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Hit play below to listen to our extended Arts Alive feature on Project Blue Boy.
“The Blue Boy” himself hasn’t aged a day since painter Thomas Gainsborough finished him in the 18th century, but the painting could use some TLC. And you can get up close to the painstaking restoration process because it’s taking place in the same gallery where the painting usually hangs. KUSC’s Kelsey McConnell went to The Huntington in San Marino to talk to Senior Paintings Conservator Christina O’Connell and Associate Curator of British Art Melinda McCurdy about the surprises revealed by an x-ray of the painting and the make-under they’re giving the boy in blue.
Christina O’Connell, senior paintings conservator, in “Project Blue Boy” installation view | Photo by Fredrik Nilsen Studio/The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
For more information, visit huntington.org.
