William Henry Hunt, O.W.S. (1790-1864)

The barber

Details

William Henry Hunt, O.W.S. (1790-1864)
The barber
signed and indistinctly dated 'W.HUNT 18[37].' (lower right)
pencil and watercolour, with scratching out
18.1/8 x 12 in. (46.4 x 31.8 cm.)

Provenance

Lady Rolle; Sotheby's Bearne sale, 23 July 1980, lot 257 (840 to Fosse Gallery).

Literature

H.M. Cundall, English Painters of the Victorian Era, 1877, illustrated facing p. 50.
H.J. Wilmont-Buxton, English Painters, 1883, p. 112,

Exhibited

London, Old Watercolour Society, 1837, no. 251.
Wolverhampton, Preston and Hastings, William Henry Hunt, 1981, no. 124.

Engraved

T. Fairland, for 'Hunt's Comic Sketches', 1841.
C. Turner, wood engraving for Mr S.C. Turner, 1841, dedicated to Lady Rolle.

Sale room notice

The print depicted, hanging on the wall in the present watercolour is by Van Dyck and depicts Samson, with his hair shorn, paraded before Delilah.

Lot Essay

The present watercolour is a fine example of Hunt's proficient use of scratching out used to great advantage in the depiction of the creased cloth. The boy model is John Swain, who was Hunt's favourite model from about 1830 until about 1844 (see also lot 100).

In the review of the 1837 O.W.S. exhibition in the Athenaeum, 29 April 1837, p. 308, the present watercolour is described as 'a hard-featured cub, suffering a Saturday-night martyrdom under the callous hands of a country barber.'

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