George Leslie Hunter 1877-1931

Mr J. Gibson Jarvie, his sale London, Phillips Son & Neale, 22 June 1965, lot 19;
Purchased by the present owners from Ian MacNicol, Glasgow in 1965

The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar Fine Art Conservation, 14 Mason's Yard, St James's, London, SW1Y 6BU, tel; 0207 930 4004. hamish@hamishdewar.co.uk UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The board is stable and providing a sound support. Paint Surface Under ultraviolet light several areas fluoresce. These appear: 1. in the white pigment in the upper right corner, 2. in the red/pink pigments alongside the upper horizontal framing edge in the centre of the composition, 3. a brush mark in the lower left corner in the orange pigments, 4. an area in the white pigment in the lower right corner. There are other areas of fluorescence; in the yellow of the pears and the white pigment of the fruit dish. It is difficult to determine whether these are retouchings applied at a later date or whether they are additions by the artist. Other pigments fluoresce within the painting, particularly the darker colours, but these would appear to be the artist's materials. The areas which fluoresce in the pink/red pigments would appear to be covering areas of paint loss. Small white accretions, most likely mould spores, appear in the paint surface in the lower left corner. The varnish surface is uneven Summary The painting is in stable condition and would benefit from cleaning and revarnishing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In 1951 Stanley Cursiter wrote, 'Leslie Hunter, with his heart singing a high note, dashing at his canvas in impetuous haste, eager to capture the quivering thought while it still glowed.' (Philip Long and Elizabeth Cumming, The Scottish Colourists 1900-1930, 2000, p.99)

Still Life with Fruit probably dates to the late 1920s during a period when Hunter's still life paintings were particularly vibrant. The pictures from this period are marked by a richness of colour and boldness of composition. 'Leslie Hunter's later still life and flower paintings exhibit considerable variety in both style and subject. It is clear that he continued to experiment, although bright colour was a constant constituent of his work, often with vibrant colours of fruit echoed in the design on a vase or background curtain.' (Derek Ogston, The Life and Work of George Leslie Hunter 1877-1931, 2002, p. 49)

During the 1920s Hunter was encouraged by his friend and biographer Tom Honeyman to concentrate on painting still-life and this was to give him a new and more focused direction in his work. Hunter loved nothing more than to paint fruit or flowers and he relished the prospect of devoting his time to still-life painting. There was a renewed vibrancy and freshness to his pictures, a clarity of colour and a striking contrast in his work, which is exceptional. In the early 1920's Hunter's paint application had become rather tentative and lacking commitment, but later in the decade his paint was applied with spirit and force. As Honeyman, noted 'Technique, as mere technique, did not interest him; it was the vision behind that mattered. With all his vigour and impetuosity, his impulsive artistic urge was instinctively right in choice of colours and tones. It is this unerring sense of colour that made Hunter the artist he became.' (T. J. Honeyman, Introducing Leslie Hunter, p.211).

The picture appears to be contemporary with Still Life with Green Bowls (private collection) which also includes a melon and Still Life with Carnations and Fruit (Sotheby's, Gleneagles, 30 August 2006, lot 1049) which also contains the clever visual device of the polished table-top reflecting the colours of the fruit. As Honeyman wrote, 'It is this unerring sense of colour that made Hunter the artist he became... never a jarring pattern is found, or an inharmonious tone in his colour schemes - rich and glowing as they are without a hint of garishness.' (T. J. Honeyman, Introducing Leslie Hunter, 1937, p. 211) Hunter usually composed his still lifes around a central motif of flowers or bowls of fruit and even made a cooked lobster the chief subject of one of his pictures. He would return to his Glasgow studio with bouquets of choice blooms or ripe fruit and despite the chaos of his housekeeping, was able to find interestingly shaped ceramics to contain them and construct a pleasing and sophisticated still life from which to work. For the present picture he chose a silver tazza and a white-glazed comport which appears in other paintings. The tazza and melon suggest an influence from seventeenth century Dutch still life painting, which Hunter is known to have admired and been influenced by at an earlier period in his career.

No doubt the sale of this picture to Hunter's cousin, the wealthy banker and barrister John Gibson-Jarvie (1883-1964) brought Hunter much needed money at a time when his finances were particularly stretched and he was making concerted efforts to paint impressive pictures for sale. The impetus of the later 1920s gave his pictures a dramatic energy and confidence which he had never reached in his work before.