Bryan Hook (1856-1924)

Gathering eggs on the cliffs of Lundy

Details

Bryan Hook (1856-1924)
Gathering eggs on the cliffs of Lundy
bears the added monogram of James Clarke Hook (the artist's father), and the date '1877' (lower right)
oil on canvas
48 x 37 in. (121.9 x 94 cm.)

Provenance

G.C.R.M. Spencer, Langton Hall, Leicestershire.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 13 February 1987, lot 56.
The Forbes Collection; Christie's, London, 19 February 2003, lot 202, as by James Clarke Hook - The Gull Catcher.

Literature

Academy Notes, 1885, p. 43.
J. MacMaster, 'James Clark Hook and Sons: The Mysterious Case of A Gull Catcher', British Art Journal, VI: 3 (Winter 2005), pp. 16-24.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1885, no. 312.
London, Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition, 1955.
Chichester, The Bishop's Palace, Distant Prospects and Familiar Shores, 1996, no. 8.
Charlotte, Mint Museum; Nashville, Cheekwood Museum of Art; Wilmington, Delaware Art Museum; Tampa, Tampa Art Museum; New York, The Forbes Galleries; Bournemouth, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, The Defining Moment: Victorian Narrative Paintings from the Forbes Magazine Collection, 2000-1, no. 25.

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Lot Essay

Bryan Hook was James Clarke Hook's second son, and emulated his father's style. This picture is in many ways a tribute to J.C. Hook's The Coast Boy gathering Eggs, also painted at Lundy, and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1858. J.C. Hook also exhibited a popular engraving of the subject at the R.A. in 1865. For years the current picture was mis-attributed to J.C. Hook on account of the added monogram and date (lower right). It was thought to be his R.A. exhibit of 1877 entitled A Gull Catcher. That picture is however in the Brighton and Hove Museum and Art Gallery.

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