A Graduate of Pomona
William Henry Hunt, Girl at a Vegetable Stall with Paper Lantern, c. 1827-1829
Girl at a Vegetable Stall with a Paper Lantern
Private Collection
Watercolor and gum arabic with scratching out
13 3/4 X 10 inches, 35 X 26 cm.
Provenance:
Perhaps (S) Foster's, London, 18 May 1858, Lot 15 (P) 6 gns.;
(S) Sotheby's London, 11 Oct 1984, Lot 444 [as Candlelight];
(S) Christie's London, 8 June 1999, Lot 98 [as A Young Vegetable Seller, Holding a Candle] (P) £2,933, $4,876 by the present owner.
It is uncertain if this is the actual watercolor identified by Roget as the watercolor of a vegetable stall illuminated by candellight which, in 1827, first drew public and critical attention to Hunt's contibutions to the SPWC spring exhibitions. There are a few other candidates among Hunt's currently known paintings of such subjects, but, based on the price Hunt placed on the only such watercolor exhibited by Hunt in 1827, this watercolor seems to be the only currently known vegeable stall by candlelight which is sufficiently large to correspond to the one priced at £12 in that year. In any event, this painting is certainly representative of Hunt's innovative use of watercolor to paint a nocturnal subject. After wearing the subject a bit thin by exhibiting a number of these young vegetable merchants over a three year period, the artist moved on to other innovative subject matters, always pushing the limits of what had been considered appropriate (or possible) for paintings in watercolor. if Roget is to be believed, the watercolors exhibited by Hunt before 1827, which would include most of his early images of country people, were not highly regarded and did not stand out as being particular innovative by those who attended the exhibitions which were the main selling venue for watercolor painters in 19th century England.
William Henry Hunt, Girl at a Vegetable Stall with Paper Lantern, c. 1827-1829
Girl at a Vegetable Stall with a Paper Lantern
Private Collection
Watercolor and gum arabic with scratching out
13 3/4 X 10 inches, 35 X 26 cm.
Provenance:
Perhaps (S) Foster's, London, 18 May 1858, Lot 15 (P) 6 gns.;
(S) Sotheby's London, 11 Oct 1984, Lot 444 [as Candlelight];
(S) Christie's London, 8 June 1999, Lot 98 [as A Young Vegetable Seller, Holding a Candle] (P) £2,933, $4,876 by the present owner.
It is uncertain if this is the actual watercolor identified by Roget as the watercolor of a vegetable stall illuminated by candellight which, in 1827, first drew public and critical attention to Hunt's contibutions to the SPWC spring exhibitions. There are a few other candidates among Hunt's currently known paintings of such subjects, but, based on the price Hunt placed on the only such watercolor exhibited by Hunt in 1827, this watercolor seems to be the only currently known vegeable stall by candlelight which is sufficiently large to correspond to the one priced at £12 in that year. In any event, this painting is certainly representative of Hunt's innovative use of watercolor to paint a nocturnal subject. After wearing the subject a bit thin by exhibiting a number of these young vegetable merchants over a three year period, the artist moved on to other innovative subject matters, always pushing the limits of what had been considered appropriate (or possible) for paintings in watercolor. if Roget is to be believed, the watercolors exhibited by Hunt before 1827, which would include most of his early images of country people, were not highly regarded and did not stand out as being particular innovative by those who attended the exhibitions which were the main selling venue for watercolor painters in 19th century England.