Rugby School has lent a painting for display as part of a new exhibition at the Philip Mould Gallery in London.

Philip Mould OBE is an English art dealer, art historian, writer and broadcaster well known for his popular BBC1 programme Fake or Fortune? with Fiona Bruce.

Fruit of Friendship, Portraits by Mary Beale, which opened at the Gallery on 25 April, will includes her painting of Portrait of A Young Boy, which until recently was hanging on the wall in School House dining room.

Mary Beale (1633-1699) was an artistic trail blazer, the first woman painter in British art to establish a major professional portrait practice in oil paintings. This exhibition will feature 25 of her works from public and private collections, many never seen before on public display.

The Philip Mould Company approached the School earlier this year to ask if they could borrow the painting which is part of the Matthew Bloxam collection.

Interestingly, an article in Meteor, March 1968 by the now famous novelist and journalist, A N Wilson, makes mention of the discovery of the Mary Beale work by experts including OR Patrick Lindsay, the leader of the British team which assisted with picture-restoration after the 1966 floods in Florence.

The Philip Mould Gallery has had a long association with Beale’s works and sold Tate Britian their first example of the artist’s work in 1992 as well as supplying her works to other museums internationally. The Gallery is an especially appropriate location, following the recent discovery that it sits on the very spot where Beale’s studio was located.

More information about the exhibition can be found here