Tudor Primary School in Sudbury teams up with National Gallery for 'once-in-a-lifetime' project inspired by return of Thomas Gainsborough's Blue Boy painting to UK shores

The return of one of Thomas Gainsborough’s most famous paintings to UK shores has sparked “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Sudbury schoolchildren.

Exactly 100 years after it was last seen in Britain, The Blue Boy returned to The National Gallery in London on January 22.

The iconic painting is being loaned by the Huntington Art Museum in California, where it was displayed for the last century, with another piece of artwork going the other way.

In honour of the return, pupils at Tudor Primary School in Sudbury – the town of Gainsborough’s birth – will visit the gallery later this month, after being invited as the only UK school to be part of a cross-continental exchange project.

Over the last few weeks, youngsters have been communicating with children at a Californian school online via Zoom, sharing information on their countries, cultures and the art which has been exchanged.

Liz Campbell, Tudor Primary School headteacher, said it was “a real privilege” to be involved in the project.

“Art is one of our main subjects here, and we treat it very seriously, not only for the curriculum, but also for the mental health benefits,” she told Suffolk News.

“We worked with The National Gallery last year and the year before on various projects, and it exhibited some of our work.

“Our art lead, Jo Gray, kept in touch and, from that, they saw how seriously we take art.

“It’s such an important part of our offer to our children and our families. We think it was because of our commitment to art that the gallery contacted us.

“We’re absolutely delighted. We think it’s a real privilege to be part of the project. We’re putting all our effort in to this, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be involved and to see The Blue Boy.”

As part of the project, the schoolchildren have also been studying The Blue Boy, which is thought to have been painted in 1770, during their art lessons, including Gainsborough’s original inspiration.

This will culminate in Year 5 and 6 pupils and staff taking a trip to Trafalgar Square, funded by The National Gallery, on Tuesday, March 15, to see the real painting.

“We’re doing an in-depth study on The Blue Boy and the school in California is doing a study of their painting,” said Mrs Campbell. “The children have been looking at the colours, the background and what led Gainsborough to paint it in the first place.

“We’re learning about school life there and they’re learning about school life here, which the children have been really enjoying.”

She added: “We set up an art group during the Covid crisis and, throughout lockdown, we made sure the children were continuing with their art curriculum.

“We wanted to make sure art is never forgotten. With a busy school curriculum and children having to play catch up, art could easily be an area that a lot of people forget about, but, for us, art gives children space, time and a sense of pride.

“That satisfaction translates itself into other areas. We find having successful art lessons has a knock-on effect in those areas as well.”