By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 02:50 EST, 29 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:35 EST, 29 June 2012 . A primary school could collect up to £150,000 from the sale of a painting which has hung in its hall for the past 86 years. Captain of the Eleven by Philip . Hermogenes Calderon, which depicts a fresh-faced Victorian boy preparing . to defend his cricket wicket, . It became one of the most famous images of the late Victorian and Edwardian period after being used in a pioneering advertising campaign to promote Pear's soap. Iconic: Captain of the Eleven by Philip Hermogenes Calderon depicts a well-scrubbed Victorian boy preparing to defend his cricket wicket and was very famous at the time, used in a Pear's Soap advert . The much-loved painting was picked by the soap company as it represented the innocence of childhood, which was a popular theme among the Victorians who viewed children as models of truth and honesty. The little boy was deemed to look cherubic, with his flawless complexion. Painted in 1882, at the height of . Calderon's career, it was included in the famous Pears Annual in 1898 . and then reproduced countless times on posters, postcards and . presentation cricket bats during the 20th century. An English painter of French and Spanish descent Philip Hermogenes Calderon is famous for his portraits and subject pictures. Born in Poitiers, France, his father, the Rev. Juan Calderon, was Professor of Spanish literature. As a boy Calderon wanted to become an engineer but grew fascinated with drawing technical figures and diagrams and decided instead to study art. He attended Leigh's art school in London before heading to Paris to study under Picot in 1851. Calderon was the leader of the St John's Wood Clique - a group of fun-loving Victorian artists living around the St John's Wood area of London who were famous for their love of practical jokes. Other members members included George Dunlop Leslie, Henry Stacy Marks, George Adolphus Storey, David Wilkie Wynfield, John Evan Hodgson and William Frederick Yeames. His first works for the Royal Academy were By the Waters of Babylon (1853), followed by Broken Vows (1857) which shows a woman overhearing her lover betraying her through a garden fence. Originally inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, his work later encapsulated historical, biblical, and literary themes. An 1891 painting St Elizabeth of Hungary's Great Act of Renunciation won Calderon the Chantrey bequest. Depicting the saint bending naked over an altar watched by monks it was perceived as anti-Catholic and generated a huge amount of controversy. The company brought art to a wider audience with their famous annual, first published in 1891, and would include large lithographs for framing. However, the painting would never have become famous without Thomas Barratt, Pears managing director and Francis Pears' son-in-law, who first spotted the fresh-faced cricketer and realised its potential. Known as the father of modern advertising, he also commandeered Sir John Everet Millais' iconic painting Bubbles, after seeing it in the Illustrated London News in 1886. It then became one of the most recognisable images of the late 19th century and made the artist a global household name. Tracey Harrison, headteacher of Thames . Primary School in Blackpool, Lancashire, said of the school's artistic . treasure: 'It was later bought by a local councillor who presented it to . the school which was in his ward in 1926. 'We have long known it is a valuable painting, but the priority is providing the best possible facilities. 'Ours . is a 19th-century school with some classrooms in need of modernisation . and if the painting reaches its estimate of £100,000 to £150,000, that’s . what the money will contribute to. 'The . painting also needed restoration and as part of preparing it for sale, . Bonhams (the auctioneer) have had it lightly cleaned and details such as . a wall and colourful flower bed behind the boy have appeared.' Although born in France to a French . mother and Spanish father, Calderon was the leader of a group of artists . called the St John's Wood Clique. Their aim was to introduce a fresh . approach to historical painting. He began exhibiting his work at the . Royal Academy in 1853 and became a highly regarded Royal Academician and his most famous work, Broken Vows, is in the Collection of Tate Britain. However the Captain of the Eleven is . already attracting plenty of interest, according to Bonhams’ director of . 19th-century paintings, Peter Rees, in part because of its important . association with early advertising. Home for 86 years: The painting found an unlikely home in the hall of Thames Primary School in Blackpool, Lancashire . He said: 'Pears . pioneered modern advertising techniques using images to reinforce the . qualities they wanted the public to associate with the product.' He added: 'It was bought by Pears’ managing director Thomas Barratt, who was skilled at spotting works that might help in the marketing of their famous brand of clear soap. 'It was given away free as a print in the 1898 Pears Christmas annual and became one of the most reproduced images of the early 20th century, appearing, for example, on presentation cricket bats.' The painting will go to auction next month.
Captain of the Eleven by Philip Hermogenes Calderon depicts a Victorian boy preparing to defend his wicket .
It became one of the most famous images .
of the late Victorian and Edwardian period .
It was used in an advertising campaign to promote Pears soap .
It has hung in Thames Primary School in Blackpool, Lancs, since 1926 .
By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 02:50 EST, 29 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:35 EST, 29 June 2012 . A primary school could collect up to £150,000 from the sale of a painting which has hung in its hall for the past 86 years. Captain of the Eleven by Philip . Hermogenes Calderon, which depicts a fresh-faced Victorian boy preparing . to defend his cricket wicket, . It became one of the most famous images of the late Victorian and Edwardian period after being used in a pioneering advertising campaign to promote Pear's soap. Iconic: Captain of the Eleven by Philip Hermogenes Calderon depicts a well-scrubbed Victorian boy preparing to defend his cricket wicket and was very famous at the time, used in a Pear's Soap advert . The much-loved painting was picked by the soap company as it represented the innocence of childhood, which was a popular theme among the Victorians who viewed children as models of truth and honesty. The little boy was deemed to look cherubic, with his flawless complexion. Painted in 1882, at the height of . Calderon's career, it was included in the famous Pears Annual in 1898 . and then reproduced countless times on posters, postcards and . presentation cricket bats during the 20th century. An English painter of French and Spanish descent Philip Hermogenes Calderon is famous for his portraits and subject pictures. Born in Poitiers, France, his father, the Rev. Juan Calderon, was Professor of Spanish literature. As a boy Calderon wanted to become an engineer but grew fascinated with drawing technical figures and diagrams and decided instead to study art. He attended Leigh's art school in London before heading to Paris to study under Picot in 1851. Calderon was the leader of the St John's Wood Clique - a group of fun-loving Victorian artists living around the St John's Wood area of London who were famous for their love of practical jokes. Other members members included George Dunlop Leslie, Henry Stacy Marks, George Adolphus Storey, David Wilkie Wynfield, John Evan Hodgson and William Frederick Yeames. His first works for the Royal Academy were By the Waters of Babylon (1853), followed by Broken Vows (1857) which shows a woman overhearing her lover betraying her through a garden fence. Originally inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, his work later encapsulated historical, biblical, and literary themes. An 1891 painting St Elizabeth of Hungary's Great Act of Renunciation won Calderon the Chantrey bequest. Depicting the saint bending naked over an altar watched by monks it was perceived as anti-Catholic and generated a huge amount of controversy. The company brought art to a wider audience with their famous annual, first published in 1891, and would include large lithographs for framing. However, the painting would never have become famous without Thomas Barratt, Pears managing director and Francis Pears' son-in-law, who first spotted the fresh-faced cricketer and realised its potential. Known as the father of modern advertising, he also commandeered Sir John Everet Millais' iconic painting Bubbles, after seeing it in the Illustrated London News in 1886. It then became one of the most recognisable images of the late 19th century and made the artist a global household name. Tracey Harrison, headteacher of Thames . Primary School in Blackpool, Lancashire, said of the school's artistic . treasure: 'It was later bought by a local councillor who presented it to . the school which was in his ward in 1926. 'We have long known it is a valuable painting, but the priority is providing the best possible facilities. 'Ours . is a 19th-century school with some classrooms in need of modernisation . and if the painting reaches its estimate of £100,000 to £150,000, that’s . what the money will contribute to. 'The . painting also needed restoration and as part of preparing it for sale, . Bonhams (the auctioneer) have had it lightly cleaned and details such as . a wall and colourful flower bed behind the boy have appeared.' Although born in France to a French . mother and Spanish father, Calderon was the leader of a group of artists . called the St John's Wood Clique. Their aim was to introduce a fresh . approach to historical painting. He began exhibiting his work at the . Royal Academy in 1853 and became a highly regarded Royal Academician and his most famous work, Broken Vows, is in the Collection of Tate Britain. However the Captain of the Eleven is . already attracting plenty of interest, according to Bonhams’ director of . 19th-century paintings, Peter Rees, in part because of its important . association with early advertising. Home for 86 years: The painting found an unlikely home in the hall of Thames Primary School in Blackpool, Lancashire . He said: 'Pears . pioneered modern advertising techniques using images to reinforce the . qualities they wanted the public to associate with the product.' He added: 'It was bought by Pears’ managing director Thomas Barratt, who was skilled at spotting works that might help in the marketing of their famous brand of clear soap. 'It was given away free as a print in the 1898 Pears Christmas annual and became one of the most reproduced images of the early 20th century, appearing, for example, on presentation cricket bats.' The painting will go to auction next month.
his cricket wicket, . It became one of the most famous images of the late Victorian and Edwardian advertising campaign to promote Pear's soap. Iconic: Captain of the Eleven by Philip Hermogenes Calderon depicts a well-scrubbed Victorian boy preparing to defend his cricket Thames . Primary School in Blackpool, Lancashire,