William Henry Hunt, Interior of Aldenham Church with Children on a Staircase, c. 1820-1825

Interior of Aldenham Church with Children on a Staircase

Private Collection

Ink and watercolor

17 1/4 X 13 in., 44 X 33 cm.

 

 

Provenance:

John Miller of Liverpool (S) Christie's London, 20 May 1858, Lot 39 [Children seated on the staircase leading to the gallery in a village church] (P) 5 gns., Gambart [London dealer];

London, Barlow Collection, until at least 1982

(S) Christie's London, 18 Dec 1984, Lot 36 (P) £1,000*, $1,613;

With Martin Gregory (London dealer;

With Colnaghi (London dealer), 1988,

(S) Sotheby's London, 9 March 1989, Lot 58 (P) Bought in

(S) Sotheby's London, 15 March 1990, Lot 90 (P) £3,000*, $4,839* by the present owner

 

Exhibited:

16 Nov - 3 Dec 1988, London, P & D Colnaghi, Ltd., English Watercolors and Drawings, No. 33 (as The Interior of Bushey Church, Hertfordshire, with Children on a Staircase Leading to the Gallery).

 

 

While most of William Henry Hunt's early watercolors of churches were images of Bushey Church, he also worked at Aldenham Church, which was not too far away from Bushey. The nave of Aldenham Church (Church of St John the Baptist) is interesting in that it has gothic, pointed arches on the right side and round, Roman arches on the left. Hunt seems to have disguised this lack of symmetry by avoiding views which included both sides of the nave, but, at times, one sees evidence of both or of the gothic side, which can help in identifying the church depicted. The entire wooden gallery at the top of the stairs shown here, is no longer present in the church. Nor is the staircase itself, which should be of no surprise considering how it appeared in the early 19th century, when these poor children probably risked their lives by posing on this clearly aged staircase at the request of the artist.

Done