Willim Henry Hunt, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, Judith, c. 1815

Portrait of the Artist's Mother, Judith

Pencil on paper

3.74 X 34.61 in., 9.5 by 11.7 cm.

Signed, l.l., W. Hunt

 

Provenance:

Cyril and Shirley Fry;

(S) Sotheby's London, 7 July 2021, Lot 215 [along with Portraits of the artist's father and of the artist(P) £1,764 $2,452 by the present owner

 

There is only one other possible portrait that is said to depict Hun't mother which is attributed to the artist. This portrait is in an old mount which is iscribed as being a portrait of Hunt;s mother.

 

THE TRUE MAIDEN NAME OF JOHN HUNT"S WIFE JUDITH

 

It has long been said that William Henry Hunt's mother was Judith Holloway, the sister of the mother of Hunt's wife, Sarah Holloway. It has also repeatedly been said that Hunt married his much younger first cousin. There is actually no evidence known to me that would support these assertions.

 

Hunt's wife, Sarah was the daughter of Daniel Holloway, 18 Dec 1786, Pamber, Hampshire, England - Nov 1868, Parkgate Farm, Bramley, Hampshire, England and his wife, Miriam Weak, c. 1786, Mortimer, Berkshire, England - Jan 1869, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. In the 1851 England census the artist and Sarah were visiting Sarah's parents at Daniel and Miriam's farm. www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/20889920/person/.... Obviously Sarah's mother could not be the sister of a Judith Holloway, since Miriam's maiden name was Weak and Holloway was only her married name.

 

If instead of being a sister, Daniel Holloway was the brother of Judith Holloway, William Henry Hunt could have married his first cousin. But Daniel Holloway's father, Henry Holloway, 1840, Pamber, Hampshire, England - 22 Jan 1821 Pamber is never shown as having a daughter named Judith. Moreover, there do not appear to be any Judith Holloways in Hampshire County or London during any relevant times. Henry Holloway (Sarah Hunt's grandfather) did have a younger brother, i.e. Sarah Hunt's great uncle, William Holloway, 17 March 1748 - 6 Jan 1818 • Stratfieldsaye, Hampshire. who was married to a Mary Keep

1752 – Stratfieldsaye. AND William Holloway was a BLACKSMITH in Stratfieldsaye!. Hunt is often said to have had an uncle who was a blacksmith in Stratfieldsaye. But what if there is a second connection...to Mary Keep?

 

I can find no record that John Hunt ever married a Judith Holloway, but a man with that name definitely married a Judith Keep. In fact, Judith does not seem to be a common name among the Holloways of Hampshire or Berkshire Counties, England, but it frequently appears within the Keep family. The Judith Keep, b. 9 May 1762 in Hampshire, England that married John Hunt, was the daughter of a John Keep, 1709 • 4 April 1793, Stratfieldsaye and was the younger sister of the Mary Keep, wife of William Holloway, the blacksmith and great-uncle of Sarah Hunt. So, if Hunt's mother was the sister of Sarah Hunt's great-aunt, the relationships are similar to the traditional relationships, which cannot be true. And the relationship between Hunt and his wife would not be nearly as problematic!

 

The only major catch with this scenario is that Judith Keep did not marry John Hunt until 19 Oct 1808 (at Saint Anne Soho, Westminster, London), 18 years after Hunt was born. But it is certainly possible. The Hunt family was almost certainly not religious. And Hunt's wife's parents were not married until a year after their oldest child was born. In any event, after many years of researching the artist's family tree, the Judith Keep theory is far and away the most likely that I have found.

 

Done