A Graduate of Pomona
William Henry Hunt, Plums and Mulberries (c. 1860)
Plums and Mulberries
Yale Center for British Art, Accession No.: B1977.14.5923
Watercolor and bodycolor
Signed, W. Hunt, lower right
7 3/4 X 9 1/2 inches, 19.7 X 24,1 cm
This wonderfully colored and well-preserved still life of Plums is one of the few Hunt still life paintings in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale has one of the largest collections of William Henry Hunt's work in North America, second only to that of the Huntington Library and Art Galleries in San Marino, California and a private collection in the United States. The Yale collection has outstanding examples of Hunt's early work and very nice examples of all the artist's many subject types and styles. Even though Hunt's still life compositions are not well represented in number, it would be difficult to find a finer example than this still life in the collection. It is most likely a late work by the artist, when his colors became cooler, more silvery, with less use of browns. The effects of human fingers on the surfaces of plums are very nicely rendered in this work.
This painting came from the collection of Sir Martin Hardie, the author of a multi-volume work on British watercolors, written at a time when Hunt's popularity was very low. It is interesting that Hardie would have bought such a very Victorian work in 1961 for his own collection. But Hardie's candid opinion of Hunt's work, one which probably would not be very well received by contemporary critics, comes out in his own writing on the mount of this watercolor: "Banal, debased, Victorian-realistic, representational it may be, but a brilliant piece of virtuosity. Methinks Sir Martin rather fancied Hunt's work. And 40 years later, I would like to second his sentiment - this work is as good as Hunt gets, and he was among the best still life painters of all time.
William Henry Hunt, Plums and Mulberries (c. 1860)
Plums and Mulberries
Yale Center for British Art, Accession No.: B1977.14.5923
Watercolor and bodycolor
Signed, W. Hunt, lower right
7 3/4 X 9 1/2 inches, 19.7 X 24,1 cm
This wonderfully colored and well-preserved still life of Plums is one of the few Hunt still life paintings in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale has one of the largest collections of William Henry Hunt's work in North America, second only to that of the Huntington Library and Art Galleries in San Marino, California and a private collection in the United States. The Yale collection has outstanding examples of Hunt's early work and very nice examples of all the artist's many subject types and styles. Even though Hunt's still life compositions are not well represented in number, it would be difficult to find a finer example than this still life in the collection. It is most likely a late work by the artist, when his colors became cooler, more silvery, with less use of browns. The effects of human fingers on the surfaces of plums are very nicely rendered in this work.
This painting came from the collection of Sir Martin Hardie, the author of a multi-volume work on British watercolors, written at a time when Hunt's popularity was very low. It is interesting that Hardie would have bought such a very Victorian work in 1961 for his own collection. But Hardie's candid opinion of Hunt's work, one which probably would not be very well received by contemporary critics, comes out in his own writing on the mount of this watercolor: "Banal, debased, Victorian-realistic, representational it may be, but a brilliant piece of virtuosity. Methinks Sir Martin rather fancied Hunt's work. And 40 years later, I would like to second his sentiment - this work is as good as Hunt gets, and he was among the best still life painters of all time.