Where Is The Red Boy? See It at Private Collection

Q: Why is it called The Red Boy?

Lawrence originally painted the clothes yellow. The boy's father insisted on crimson, and Lawrence reluctantly repainted it, creating the striking red that gave the portrait its popular name.

Q: Where can I see The Red Boy?

The National Gallery London acquired it in 2021 for £9.3 million. The painting remained with the Lambton family for nearly 200 years before the sale.

Q: What happened to the boy in the portrait?

Charles William Lambton died of tuberculosis at just thirteen years old. His father, later Earl of Durham, commissioned this portrait when Charles was six or seven.

Q: Why is this painting historically significant?

It was the first painting reproduced on a British postage stamp in 1967. Critics at the 1825 Royal Academy said it surpassed Reynolds in rendering childhood.

Sir Thomas Lawrence painted Romantic portrait in 1825 for 600 guineas. The subject, Charles William Lambton, was the six-year-old son of John Lambton, later Earl of Durham. Sitting on rocks overlooking a moonlit sea, the boy appears lost in contemplation, a Romantic wanderer in miniature.

Lawrence originally painted the boy in yellow, but the father insisted on crimson, creating the vivid title image. Critics at the 1825 Royal Academy exhibition declared it surpassed even Reynolds. The work appeared at the Paris Salon in 1827 to further acclaim. Tragically, young Charles died of tuberculosis at just thirteen. The painting became the first ever reproduced on a British postage stamp (1967) and appeared on Wilkins Red Boy Toffee packaging. After remaining in the Lambton family for nearly two centuries, it was acquired by the National Gallery London in 2021 for £9.3 million.

Lawrence originally painted the clothes yellow. The boy's father insisted on crimson, and Lawrence reluctantly repainted it, creating the striking red that gave the portrait its popular name.

The National Gallery London acquired it in 2021 for £9.3 million. The painting remained with the Lambton family for nearly 200 years before the sale.

Charles William Lambton died of tuberculosis at just thirteen years old. His father, later Earl of Durham, commissioned this portrait when Charles was six or seven.

It was the first painting reproduced on a British postage stamp in 1967. Critics at the 1825 Royal Academy said it surpassed Reynolds in rendering childhood.

The Red Boy

Details

Where to See It

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About The Red Boy

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