William Henry Hunt, The Village Pet, Exhibited 1852

The Village Pet

Private collection

Watercolor and gum arabic with scratching out

6 3/4 X 4 3/4 in., 17.5 X 12 cm.

inscribed on label attached to the backboard, "Old William Hunt/The pet of the village/engraved.

 

Provenance:

(S) Christie's London, 29 Feb 1868, Lot 72 (P) Unsold at £17 6 s. 6 d.;

(S) Sotheby's London, 11 July 1985, Lot 178 (P) 500, $826;

1986, with Bill Thompson, London dealer;

(S) Sotheby's London, 15 Nov 1990, Lot 115;

(S) Sotheby's London, 1 April 1993, Lot 137 (P) Bought in;

George and Maura McClelland (S) Whyte's, Dublin, Ireland, 3 April 2017 Lot 219 (P) 480* euros $512*

 

Exhibited:

London, 1852, Society of Painters in Water-colours, Spring Exhibition, No. 243.

 

 

It is hard to believe that this very simply painted watercolor of a young girl with an overbite is anything other than something WIlliam Henry Hunt made in his youth, before he had much experience or skills at painting. In fact, it is a late watercolor by the artist, as shown by the fact that Queen Victoria herself was reported in the British Press to have laughed at this painting when she viewed the 1852 Spring Exhibition of the Society of Painters in Water-Colours. That fact alone makes me smile every time I see this image.

Done