William Henry Hunt, A Hermit, Exhibited 1847

A Hermit

Private collection

Watercolor, bodycolor, and gum arabic with scratching out

22 X 17 1/2 in., 56 X 44 cm

signed, l.r., W. Hunt

 

Provenance:

Spring 1847, with J&W Vokins [London Dealer];

Henri Riviere by 1897;

Mrs. Henri Rivière (S) Christie's London, 5 June 1930, Lot 40;

(S) Richard Haworth {Dealer in Blackburn, England, 31 Ju;y 1930 (P) 44 GBP;

(S) Christie's London, 12 May 1970, Lot 125 (P) 40 gns., $100 Pears;

Alan B. Gateley, West Midlands, England, by 1982;

(S) Sotheby's London, 13 July 2010, Lot 61 (as A Monk Sitting in his Cell), (P) Bought In;

(S) London, Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers, 13 Sep 2011, Lot 707 (as A Monk Sitting in his Cell Reading) (P) Bought In;

(S) London, Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers, 6 Dec 2016, Lot 524 (as A Monk Sitting in his Cell Reading) (P) 1,250 GBP $1,600

 

Exhibited:

Spring 1847, London, Society of Painters in Water-colours, No. 69 (as A Hermit)'

1897, London, The Victorian Era Exhibition, No. 292 (A Monk, lent by H. Riviere)

 

Described in a review of the 1847 Spring Exhibition of the SPWC in the Art Union, Vol. 9, 1847, p. 247 as follows:

No. 69. 'A Hermit,' W. HUNT.

A figure habited in monastic attire: he is seated at a table, the carved work which attracts the eye, but whether it is of wood or stone, his own laborious handiwork, we are left in doubt. The drawing is brilliant and careful in finish.

Done