William Henry Hunt (1790-1864) was one of the key figures in British watercolour painting in the first half of the nineteenth century. Born in London and apprenticed at the age of fourteen to the watercolourist John Varley, he entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1808, becoming a regular exhibitor at the Society of Painters in Water-Colour from 1814. His career was furthered by the patronage of the Duke of Devonshire and the Earl of Essex, both of whom offered him important opportunities to work on their estates. His work focussed on the rural and the natural worlds, ranging from genre scenes to single-figure studies to the intricate still-lifes for which he is now best known. John Ruskin was one of his most influential admirers, and his innovative technique inspired younger artists such as the Pre-Raphaelites.

The present work dates from late in Hunt’s career; it is most likely the work exhibited as no. 275, ‘A Flower Girl’, at the Society of Painters in Water-colour in 1864, a few months before his death. The cool palette is typical of his later work, although the quiet dignity of the figure’s expression and carriage harks back to that of his earlier single-figure compositions. It was praised at the time of its display for the vividness of the flowers and for the simplicity and sincerity of the composition and the treatment of the figure, which is notably devoid of the sentimentality that occasionally dogged Hunt’s late work.

William Henry Hunt (1790-1864) was one of the key figures in British watercolour painting in the first half of the nineteenth century. Born in London and apprenticed at the age of fourteen to the watercolourist John Varley, he entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1808, becoming a regular exhibitor at the Society of Painters in Water-Colour from 1814. His career was furthered by the patronage of the Duke of Devonshire and the Earl of Essex, both of whom offered him important opportunities to work on their estates. His work focused on the rural and the natural worlds, ranged from genre scenes to single-figure studies to the intricate still-lifes for which he is now best known. John Ruskin was one of his most influential admirers, and his innovative technique inspired younger artists such as the Pre-Raphaelites. The present work dates from late in Hunt’s career; it is most likely the work exhibited as no. 275, ‘A Flower Girl’, at the Society of Painters in Water-colour in 1864, a few months before his death. The cool palette is typical of his later work, although the quiet dignity of the figure’s expression and carriage harks back to that of his earlier single-figure compositions. It was praised at the time of its display for the vividness of the flowers and for the simplicity and sincerity of the composition and the treatment of the figure, which is notably devoid of the sentimentality that occasionally dogged Hunt’s late work.

Thomas Agnew & Sons (London), by 7 April 864 (their letter entrusting the work to the 1864 watercolour exhibition); anonymous sale, Sotheby’s (London), 9 March 1989, lot 144 (unsold); anonymous sale, Sotheby’s (London),15 March 1990, lot 164 (unsold); Bonhams (London), 22 March 2016, lot 26; Guy Peppiatt (London), by 3 October 2016 (when exhibited there); purchased there by the Spooner Charitable Trust; gift of the Spooner Charitable Trust to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2017

British portrait and figure drawings 1750 to 1900, Guy Peppiatt Fine Art, London, 03/10/2016-12/10/2016

Society of Painters in Water-colours, London, 1864

British portrait and figure drawings 1750 to 1900, Guy Peppiatt Fine Art, London, 2016
cat. no. 31
ill. on p. 28

Bonhams, London, British and European art, 22 March 2016
lot 26
ill.

Fenwick, Simon and Greg Smith, The business of watercolour, Aldershot 1997
p. 186 ...More

Watermark: Watermark: unable to check due to card support.

Collector's mark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower left corner, brown ink, signed: "W HUNT". Mount (removed, recorded in acquisition report): inside backboard, lower right corner, graphite: "1".