William Henry Hunt, St. John's Chapel, St. Mary's Church, Guildford, Surrey, Exhibited 1837

St. John's Chapel, St. Mary's Church, Guildford, Surrey

Private collection

Watercolor, bodycolor, and gum arabic with scratching out

15 X 13 in., 38.10 X 33 cm.

Signed, l.r., W. Hunt

 

(Provenance:

(S) Christie's London, 2 May 1857, Lot 55 [Interior of Guildford Church], (P) 15 gns. Mcenlicces;

(S) Sotheby's London, 14 July 1988, Lot 148 (P) £2,600*, $4,391 by the present owner.

 

 

John Honby Maw, Hunt's friend and patron, also had a home in Guildford (not too far from Heathrow Airport today), where Hunt would also visit and work. There are a handful of exhibited watercolors painted at Guildford, and this is one of the most interesting. It shows St. John's Chapel in St. Mary's Church. There have been major changes to the chapel since Hunt painted this view. The bottoms of the two windows have been evened out, and all the frescoes on the walls and ceiling have been covered with whitewash. But the chair with the red cushion near the center of the picture is still in the church, albeit without the cushion. As far as I know, this is the only church interior Hunt painted after his early views of the churches in Bushey and Aldenham and the only one painted in his mature style..

Done