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For some it is the epitome of the appalling sentimentality of a box of chocolate, described by Wordsworth as “a miserable histrionic thing.” For others, it is a dazzling tour de force, hailed by a critic as showing “the sparkling intelligence of youth”.
Members of the public will soon be able to join in the debate as the National Gallery announced Thursday that it is purchasing the work in question for the nation: The Portrait of Thomas Lawrence by Charles William Lambton (1818-1831), popularly known as by Red Boy.
The painting has divided opinions since it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1825. It’s either smelly or it’s wonderful. Whatever your opinion, it is undeniably famous, reproduced on countless tins of caramel and shortbread and becoming, in 1967, the first painting ever put on a British postage stamp.
It was donated to the National Gallery from a private collection for £ 9.3million. Funding comes from the American Friends of the National Gallery as well as other bequests and donations. The Art Fund is contributing £ 300,000.
The gallery said it was a unique opportunity “to acquire a painting of exceptional importance by one of the best European portrait painters of the early 19th century, which is of exceptional importance to Britain’s national heritage. “.
Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery, said the work was “a feat of technical genius and at the same time a moving portrayal of a young boy becoming aware of himself”.
He said he was confident that “this dazzling portrait” will become “a much admired painting for all our visitors”.
Maybe not all. Lawrence has always had his detractors. After seeing the Red Boy, the poet Wordsworth said: “Lawrence’s portrayal of young Lambton is a miserable and histrionic thing; the taste of the public must be stale indeed, if that is admired. A Times writer disagreed, noting “the sparkling intelligence of youth.”
Recent reviews have been biting. When featured at an exhibition on Lawrence at the National Portrait Gallery in 2010, Richard Dorment of the Daily Telegraph said the boy looked like “a bathing beauty from Mack Sennett,” adding, for the avoidance of doubt: “Lawrence must be the worst painter of children in the history of art.
Laura Cumming of The Observer was of a similar opinion: “Lawrence painted children like Disney does with deer, smelly cute.
The portrait of the six- or seven-year-old boy in his red velvet playsuit was commissioned by the boy’s father, John George Lambton, who became the first Earl of Durham in 1833.
The gallery said it will pay in installments and fully own the painting by the end of the year. It will be exhibited, after conservation, in early 2022.
Christine Riding, head of the curatorial department, said the acquisition was “a dream come true for anyone who loves British art.
“His presence at the National Gallery will allow us to show the intimate relationship between Lawrence, Gainsborough, Constable and many other European artists and paintings in the National Collection in Trafalgar Square.
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