Interior of a barn

William Henry Hunt is one of the key figures in British watercolour painting of 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.

This image blends together the still-life compositions for which Hunt was mainly known and the landscape here perceived through the opening of the barn. Though lacking any human presence, Hunt has evoked it by delicately rendering the diligently stacked hop sacks. Hunt was born with deformed legs that hampered his movements; this contributed to his eventual abandonment of large landscapes in favour of still lives (in particular his celebrated birds’ nests), figures, and interiors. This watercolour, which is signed, brings all these worlds together.

Possibly from the William Henry Hunt sale (Christie’s, London, 16 May 1864, lot 127 “A barn at Bramley”, with three other drawings); J.P. Heseltine (according to an information provided by the Leger Galleries); L.E. Williams (1992); The Leger Galleries, London (July 1992), where acquired by Alastair John Smith; gifted to The Courtauld November 2023