Thursday, January 27, 2011

Pinkie & Blue Boy



Pictured above are two of my all-time favorite paintings. These are just photos of the paintings my in-laws have in their dining room. Between the light and my flash, they're not very good images. However, I've always loved them both. When I first started dating Rick in 1981, I was thrilled to see them hanging up in his house. I'm hoping my in-laws will let me have them someday, maybe if they ever decide to downsize. Perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my account, but I can hope.

If you go to The Huntington Library in San Marino, California, you'll find Pinkie and Blue Boy are hanging opposite from each other. That's just how my in-laws have them in their dining room. Many people think they were painted by the same artist, but they weren't. Pinkie was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence and Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. Not only were they painted by different artists, but they were done 25 years apart. The dress styles were over 150 years apart from each other. However, they're such a perfect match that the two paintings are so often paired together.

And ... what a perfect pair they are! I can't imagine Pinkie being alone without her beloved Blue Boy watching over her.

6 comments:

  1. I have a photocopy of Pinkie framed and hung on my wall. I had Blue Boy, but I lost him :`(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Back in the olden days, when I was growing up, Mom used to have this pair sitting side by side on the wall. They were a duo in our house for years. I wonder what ever happened to them.

    (And WHOO-HOO to your weight loss - you're kicking some butt - or at least losing some ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. They do make a stunning pair...but I worry about their personalities...isn't he a bit too serious for her?

    ReplyDelete
  4. they do look like they belong together! I'd never have guessed they weren't by the same artist.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I had many of those types of paintings in my childhood too. It's fun to learn the histories of them and even when they are not meant to match, they somehow do. Most of my inherited paintings are naval related, for whatever reason.

    ReplyDelete
  6. nOT LONG AGO i READ A BOOK THAT TALKED ABOUT THESE TWO PAINTINGS AND HOW the girl grew up with them. I was wondering what ones they were and then you posted them like a week after I read the book!

    ReplyDelete