William Henry Hunt was born with a deformation of the legs, which limited his mobility. His artistic talent offered him a means to earn a living in a period when there were few options for the disabled, and disability often meant a life of poverty and dependence. However, his reduced mobility made painting landscapes in the open air – then a common practice among watercolourists – difficult, if not impractical. Instead, Hunt made a virtue of necessity by focusing on subjects that he could study at close range over an extended period of time: single figures painted from posed models, and still lifes which he could arrange in his studio. He achieved renown for his minutely rendered watercolours of fruit, flowers and birds’ nests, which earned him the nickname ‘Birds’ Nest Hunt’. Despite its air of uncontrived simplicity, this exquisitely detailed still life was created painstakingly in the studio. To achieve such illusionism, Hunt used stipple effects in subtle combinations of colour and layered bright watercolour washes over an underlayer of white, a complex and deliberate process better suited to working indoors than en plein air. Younger British artists like the Pre-Raphaelites were strongly influenced by Hunt’s layered technique.

Mrs Frank; purchased from her by Sir John Witt, London (1907-1982), L.646a, 1965; John Witt Bequest via the Art Fund 1982

Drawings Gallery Display - Pen to Brush: British Drawings and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 18/11/2021-28/02/2022

Life, Legend, Landscape - Victorian Drawings and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 17/02/2011-15/05/2011 ...More

Life, Legend, Landscape: Victorian Drawings & Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, 2011
no. 26
ill. on p. 107

Life, Legend, Landscape - Victorian Drawings and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, 2011
cat. no. 26
ill. on p. 107

About Time, Courtauld Gallery, 2000
ill. ...More

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right corner, brown-grey watercolour, signed: "W HUNT". Support (historic), Recto: lower left corner, graphite: "1236"; lower right corner, graphite: "W. H. Hunt / Signed (lr corner).".

Collector's mark: Verso: lower left corner, and again on Support (historic), Recto: lower left corner, stamped in black: Sir John Witt (L.646a).