It’s been a while since my last post, so I thought we would start with a newly acquired piece.

#WilliamHenryHunt (1790-1864) was a key figure in the nineteenth century English watercolour world. His works were readily collected in his lifetime and continue to be popular. He painted genre images of children and still-lifes of fruit, flowers, and bird’s nests. This earned him the nickname ‘Bird’s Nest Hunt’
Hunt was born near Covent Garden suffering with a deformity to his legs. He apprenticed under watercolourist #JohnVarley in 1806. Through Varley he met patron #Dr.ThomasMonro, who encouraged and enabled Hunt to paint and progress artistically. Hunt often traveled to Dr. Monro’s summer house at Bushey in Hertfordshire. Many of Hunt’s drawings were done at the farm where he would be wheeled around in a barrow with a hood attachment.

Ruskin suggested that if one wished to learn how to paint in watercolour there was no safer guide than William Hunt. Very high praise indeed.

The watercolour shown is signed lower right and the title is on the verso. The paper has darkened greatly over time but the quality of the colours and overall image can still be seen. A nice work by a well respected artist.