Leslie Hunter
George Leslie Hunter | |
---|---|
Rothesay, Isle of Bute | |
Died | Glasgow, Scotland | 7 December 1931
Nationality | Scottish |
Known for | Graphic artist; Artist in paper media & Oils |
Movement | Post-Impressionism |
Awards | Artist Member of Glasgow Art Club |
Patron(s) | T.J. Honeyman, Alexander Reid, Matthew Justice |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Dr_Tom_J_Honeyman_by_Leslie_Hunter_c.1930.jpg/260px-Dr_Tom_J_Honeyman_by_Leslie_Hunter_c.1930.jpg)
George Leslie Hunter (7 August 1877 – 7 December 1931) was a Scottish painter, regarded as one of the four artists of the
Hunter painted a variety of
Biography
Early life
Hunter was born in
Emigration to California and move to San Francisco, leaving parents
Hunter was fifteen when he emigrated with his parents and two surviving siblings to California.
Beginnings in fine art
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Figures_in_conversation.jpeg/220px-Figures_in_conversation.jpeg)
In 1904, Hunter made a visit to Paris, funded by his earnings as an illustrator. He was inspired by the numerous artistic experiences there, and became fully resolved to take up oil painting.[9][10] When he returned to San Francisco in 1905, he began preparing for his first solo exhibition, which was to be held the following year. However, Hunter's early work was destroyed in the fire that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and he returned to Scotland shortly afterwards, settling in Glasgow.[11] Initially he continued to make his living there primarily as an illustrator. His oil painting began with still lifes on black backgrounds, influenced by the Dutch style.[10]
In 1908, whilst back in Paris, Hunter met
In November 1913 the influential art dealer Alexander Reid gave Hunter his first one-man-show, at his gallery at West George Street. It was popular but the public did not have any real understanding of his sense of colour and line.[12] At the show Hunter was probably introduced to the Dundee collector John Tattersall.[13] Through Reid, Hunter most likely first met William McInnes of Gow, Harrison & Company (shipbuilders) who became a close friend and patron to Hunter.[4] McInnes went on to buy 23 works in total.[14]
Hunter's landscape style began to change after visits to Etaples in 1913 and 1914, although Hunter did not necessarily appear to be part of the existing
In Scotland, Alexander Reid was acting as his agent, remaining in constant contact with him throughout the First World War.
In July 1917 (through Reid) the collector William Burrell bought his first Hunter: "Peaches" for 10 guineas and in September 1917 bought a still life for £38.[21]
European travel and return to Fife
In 1922, Hunter began to make a series of trips to mainland Europe, where he visited Paris, Venice, Florence and the Riviera. Fergusson accompanied him on a number of these visits.[8] Hunter's visits abroad produced a large number of paintings and his style changed noticeably in this period of European travel as he began using dabs of colour placed instinctively to portray underlying form.[22]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Moonlight%2C_Loch_Lomond_-_George_Leslie_Hunter_-_ABDAG010722.jpg/220px-Moonlight%2C_Loch_Lomond_-_George_Leslie_Hunter_-_ABDAG010722.jpg)
When Hunter returned from his first series of trips abroad, in 1922, he settled in
Hunter travelled again to the South of France on a number of occasions between 1927 and 1929, and based himself at Saint-Paul-de-Vence. He sent paintings back to Reid to be exhibited in Glasgow and London, but he spent a great deal of time sketching and his output of finished oil paintings was low. One exhibition in London had to be postponed due to a lack of paintings.[22] The France trips culminated in 1929 with a critically acclaimed exhibition at the Ferargil Galleries in New York.[24]
London, ill-health and death
However, shortly after returning to the French Riviera in 1929, Hunter suffered a severe breakdown, forcing his sister to bring him home to Scotland in September. He recovered, and began to paint a number of portraits of his friends, including one of Dr Tom Honeyman, the Director of the Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum from 1939 until 1954.[22][25] Honeyman, at the time an art dealer, had assisted Hunter in developing his career, and painting the portrait may have been a gesture of thanks.[26]
In 1930 he embarked upon a series of drawings and watercolours of Hyde Park, which were due to be exhibited in London. Hunter hoped to move to the city permanently, as he found it livelier than Glasgow and the art market was more secure.
Popularity
Hunter's paintings were popular with critics during his lifetime, and he had successful exhibitions in Glasgow, London and New York.
Many years after his death, solo exhibitions of Hunter's paintings were still held and, in 1953, the display of a selection of watercolours and paintings in Glasgow attracted numerous visitors. The art critic of the Glasgow Herald described the "varied and uneven genius" of the painter, and praised one painting as having been executed with "such a freedom and economy of touch one cannot well see how any amount of extra thought or technical application could have bettered it."[29]
Paintings by Hunter have gone on to sell for large sums in the early 21st century, with one painting described as the "star lot" in a Bonhams auction in June 2010 selling for £144,000.[30] Another painting was sold in June 2010 for £78,000. Nick Curnow, head of pictures at Lyon & Turnbull, said of it "This is a very special painting, so typical of Hunter."[31]
Style
Hunter focused for much of his life on landscapes and on still lifes, working in both pen and ink and oil on canvas. His still lifes of fruit are particularly distinctive, but he also painted a variety of landscapes, especially of Scotland and France.[32] In his earlier paintings, Hunter was influenced by Cézanne to produce domestic landscapes. Later, however, in common with the other members of the Scottish colourists movement, he was heavily influenced by contemporary French artists like Monet[33] and Matisse, and his paintings began to make bolder and more energetic use of colour.[1]
Hunter particularly strove to capture in his paintings the effects of light, and would repeatedly paint the same objects or locations under a range of lighting conditions.
References
- ^ a b c d "The Scottish Colourists". Explore Art. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- ISBN 0-7195-5437-3.
- ^ Cornwell, Tim (21 July 2012). "The true colours of Scottish painter George Leslie Hunter". The Scotsman.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-873830-23-9.
- ^ a b c "50 interesting facts about the Gallery of Modern Art". National Galleries of Scotland. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ Honeyman, T.J. (1937). Introducing Leslie Hunter. Faber & Faber Ltd
- ^ "George Leslie Hunter: a brilliant Scottish colourist". ArtUK.
- ^ a b "George Leslie Hunter (1877 – Rothesay – 1931 – Glasgow)". Richard Green (Fine Paintings). Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ a b Mackenzie, Jill C. The Scottish Colourists: Hunter. Duncan R Miller Fine Arts. p. 3.
- ^ a b c "George Leslie Hunter". Portland Gallery. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ "(George) Leslie Hunter". scottish-places.info. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ Alexander Reid in Context by Frances Fowle vol.1
- ^ Alexander Reid in Context by Frances Fowle vol.1
- ^ Alexander Reid in Context by Frances Fowle vol.1
- ^ Ogston, Derek (2004). Leslie Hunter Paintings and Drawings of France and Italy. Baillieknowe Publishing. ISBN 0-9538590-4-5
- ^ See his "Beach figures" Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine and the related "Figures in Conversation".
- ^ Honeyman, T.J. (1937). Introducing Leslie Hunter. Faber & Faber Ltd
- ^ Honeyman, T.J. (1937). Introducing Leslie Hunter. Faber & Faber Ltd
- ^ Alexander Reid in Context by Frances Fowle vol.1
- ^ a b "George Leslie Hunter". The Scottish Gallery. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ Alexander Reid in Context by Frances Fowle vol.1
- ^ a b c d e Mackenzie, Jill C. The Scottish Colourists: Hunter. Duncan R Miller Fine Arts. p. 4.
- ISBN 0-19-817225-7.
- ^ a b c "George Leslie Hunter". MG Fine Art. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ a b "George Leslie Hunter". Glasgow Museums. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Friends of Glasgow Museums" (PDF). 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ Glasgow Herald article 9 April 1935 ‘’Glasgow Art Club – Memorial Exhibition Opened’’ Retrieved 17 August 2011
- Glasgow Herald. 11 June 1931. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- Glasgow Herald. 16 October 1953. Retrieved 8 December 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "George Leslie Hunter's £150,000 Colourist painting comes alive at Bonhams". Paul Fraser Collectibles. 16 July 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- ^ "Glasgow Family's Colourist Still Life Makes £78,000". Lyon & Turnbull. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ "George Leslie Hunter: a brilliant Scottish Colourist". ArtUK.
- ^ "Monet, Leslie Hunter and the pursuit of colour". ArtUK.
- ^ Glynn, Susannah (2007). "Around the Regions" (PDF). Bonhams. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 98 artworks by or after Leslie Hunter at the Art UK site
- Leslie Hunter at artcyclopedia.com
- Biography of & artworks by George Leslie Hunter at the Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries, Scotland Archived 20 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine virtual representation of the Gracefield Arts Centre's Permanent Collection at exploreart.co.uk