A Graduate of Pomona
William Henry Hunt, The Artist, c. 1836
The Artist
Private collection
Watercolor, bodycolor, and gum arabic with scratching out
8 1/2 X 6 3/4 in., 21.5 X 17 cm.
Provenance:
William Henry Hunt, until his death in 1864;
The estate of William Henry Hunt, (S) Christie's London, 16 May 1864, Lot 188 (P) 5 gns Rowbotham;
Christie's London, 17 November 2005, Lot 144 (As The Young Connoisseur) (P) £6,000*, $10,420;
With Chris Beetles, Ltd. (London dealer) from whom purchased, November 2005, by the present owner
Exhibited:
1857, Manchester, England, Exhibition of the Art Treasures of Great Britain, No. 547 (as The Artist, lent by W. Hunt);
2006, London, Chris Beetles, Ltd., Summer Show, No. 4.
Inscribed on backboard, The Young Collector/W. Hunt
Following the death of William Henry Hunt in 1864, the contents of his studio were auctioned at Christie's in London. Since the artist's work had been so in demand during his lifetime, very few finished watercolors were still in his possession at the time he died, but this was one of them. Hunt must have prized this small work, since he himself lent it, and only it, to the 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester, one of the biggest showcases for living British artists in the 19th century. The fact that the artist kept this watercolor for the rest of his lifetime indicates that he had not lent a work which he had just finished or which was merely accessible back in 1857 but that Hunt must have considered this to be one of his more significant watercolors.
Hunt painted a number of pictures showing children either admiring their own drawings or showing the results of their youthful artistic talents to the viewer. This work is very similar to another watercolor, The Valentine, now at the Whitworth Art Gallery of the University of Manchester, which shows the same boy reading a letter by candlelight. The identity of the model is uncertain, but he appears in a number of watercolors Hunt painted around 1836, including the Boy with Shrimp Basket (dated 1836, as is The Valentine) and a boy playing cricket entitled Middle and Leg.
The only real clue to his identity is his apparent age at the time he modeled for Hunt as a shrimper in 1836 and the fact that the artist kept this watercolor showing this particular boy. The boy seems to be around 10 years old in 1836, which would mean that he would have been born in about 1826. That happens to be the year of birth of Hunt's nephew, the son of his brother, Thomas James Hunt, who also carried the name William Henry Hunt. It seems that Hunt's sister-in-law, Maria Madison Hunt, and his nephew, William Henry, took care of the artist late in life. There was some estrangement between Hunt and his only child, Emma, which is tragically apparent from the fact that the artist died weeping in his daughter's arms due to his having been unfair to her in his will. The major beneficiary of Hunt's very sizable estate (worth around £20,000, a fortune in 1864), was his nephew with whom he shared his name.
If the model shown in this small group of paintings is indeed William Henry Hunt, the nephew, it would be consistent with Hunt's proclivity to use family members as his models. Although many factors could have gone into his decision to keep his family involved in his business of art, the most likely reason is probably Hunt's own, well-documented thriftiness - he saved the fees he would have to pay professional models and others who would be asked to sit for him as models for hours on end. Once John Swain started to outgrow Hunt's need for a boy model, Hunt's nephew, three years younger than Swain, was perfect for filling that position, and probably did so for free.
The catalogue for the sale of the contents of Hunt's studio listed original watercolors by Hunt in bold face type. Among the few such works which appear from their titles to be of types which were in high demand and which the artist could have readily sold, such as Hearing Lessons, now on deposit with the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, several depicted Hunt's daughter in various roles. The fact that Hunt was motivated to retain for himself until the end of his life works which, over the years, had become very valuable, is probably due to the fact that the artist had a sentimental attachment to those pictures showing his close family members, including Emma and, perhaps, his nephew, William Henry.
William Henry Hunt, The Artist, c. 1836
The Artist
Private collection
Watercolor, bodycolor, and gum arabic with scratching out
8 1/2 X 6 3/4 in., 21.5 X 17 cm.
Provenance:
William Henry Hunt, until his death in 1864;
The estate of William Henry Hunt, (S) Christie's London, 16 May 1864, Lot 188 (P) 5 gns Rowbotham;
Christie's London, 17 November 2005, Lot 144 (As The Young Connoisseur) (P) £6,000*, $10,420;
With Chris Beetles, Ltd. (London dealer) from whom purchased, November 2005, by the present owner
Exhibited:
1857, Manchester, England, Exhibition of the Art Treasures of Great Britain, No. 547 (as The Artist, lent by W. Hunt);
2006, London, Chris Beetles, Ltd., Summer Show, No. 4.
Inscribed on backboard, The Young Collector/W. Hunt
Following the death of William Henry Hunt in 1864, the contents of his studio were auctioned at Christie's in London. Since the artist's work had been so in demand during his lifetime, very few finished watercolors were still in his possession at the time he died, but this was one of them. Hunt must have prized this small work, since he himself lent it, and only it, to the 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester, one of the biggest showcases for living British artists in the 19th century. The fact that the artist kept this watercolor for the rest of his lifetime indicates that he had not lent a work which he had just finished or which was merely accessible back in 1857 but that Hunt must have considered this to be one of his more significant watercolors.
Hunt painted a number of pictures showing children either admiring their own drawings or showing the results of their youthful artistic talents to the viewer. This work is very similar to another watercolor, The Valentine, now at the Whitworth Art Gallery of the University of Manchester, which shows the same boy reading a letter by candlelight. The identity of the model is uncertain, but he appears in a number of watercolors Hunt painted around 1836, including the Boy with Shrimp Basket (dated 1836, as is The Valentine) and a boy playing cricket entitled Middle and Leg.
The only real clue to his identity is his apparent age at the time he modeled for Hunt as a shrimper in 1836 and the fact that the artist kept this watercolor showing this particular boy. The boy seems to be around 10 years old in 1836, which would mean that he would have been born in about 1826. That happens to be the year of birth of Hunt's nephew, the son of his brother, Thomas James Hunt, who also carried the name William Henry Hunt. It seems that Hunt's sister-in-law, Maria Madison Hunt, and his nephew, William Henry, took care of the artist late in life. There was some estrangement between Hunt and his only child, Emma, which is tragically apparent from the fact that the artist died weeping in his daughter's arms due to his having been unfair to her in his will. The major beneficiary of Hunt's very sizable estate (worth around £20,000, a fortune in 1864), was his nephew with whom he shared his name.
If the model shown in this small group of paintings is indeed William Henry Hunt, the nephew, it would be consistent with Hunt's proclivity to use family members as his models. Although many factors could have gone into his decision to keep his family involved in his business of art, the most likely reason is probably Hunt's own, well-documented thriftiness - he saved the fees he would have to pay professional models and others who would be asked to sit for him as models for hours on end. Once John Swain started to outgrow Hunt's need for a boy model, Hunt's nephew, three years younger than Swain, was perfect for filling that position, and probably did so for free.
The catalogue for the sale of the contents of Hunt's studio listed original watercolors by Hunt in bold face type. Among the few such works which appear from their titles to be of types which were in high demand and which the artist could have readily sold, such as Hearing Lessons, now on deposit with the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, several depicted Hunt's daughter in various roles. The fact that Hunt was motivated to retain for himself until the end of his life works which, over the years, had become very valuable, is probably due to the fact that the artist had a sentimental attachment to those pictures showing his close family members, including Emma and, perhaps, his nephew, William Henry.