George Leslie Hunter 1877-1931

John Gibson Jarvie, his sale London, Phillips Son & Neale, 22 June 1965, lot 6;
Purchased by the present owners from Ian MacNicol, Glasgow in 1965

STRUCTURE This picture is unlined and in excellent original condition on both the recto and the verso with strong clear colours throughout and rich impasto. There are no signs of craquelure and the paint surface on both sides appears to be stable. This picture is ready to hang. UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT There are no signs of retouching. FRAME This picture is contained in a simple modern frame.
"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."

Mr Hunter loves paint and the flatness of paint. He loads it on lusciously... His still-life paintings are strong and simple in design and gorgeous in colour. Only his firm taste and his mastery of colour prevent him being blatant; but, missing that, he makes the heart glad, like wine.' (Times review of 1923, T. J. Honeyman papers, National Library of Scotland, p. 85)

The still lifes painted by Hunter in the period from 1914 to 1919 are invariably realistic depictions of fruit and flowers, usually painted against a neutral background with rich colouring and strong chiaroscuro. The colouring of this group of paintings is predominantly earthy in tone enlivened by accents of bright colour and pools of natural light. These paintings were inspired by the works of Dutch seventeenth-century painters, the pioneers of still-life painting Willem Kalf and Jan Davidsz de Heem and of the French painter of the eighteenth-century Jean-Simeon Chardin. Hunter had studied work by these artists at the Glasgow Art Gallery and had been much influenced in his own work. Hunter was particularly inspired by Kalf's earlier still lifes which comprised of more humble kitchen objects than the Chinese porcelain and silver vessels which appear in the work of Kalf's later period.  Hunter, like Kalf found items for his paintings in the kitchen of his uncle's farmhouse at Millburn near Larkhall, where he stayed for much of his time before WWI. Perhaps the most famous of the paintings of this period is Kitchen Utensils (Tate Britain), which features pans and earthenware bowls with vegetables from the farm garden arranged on the kitchen dresser. The reassuringly humble and everyday items, such as the fruit freshly unwrapped after being taken home from the grocer, are often combined with more luxurious items such as the silver ewer and fine porcelain.

An artist that Hunter identified as one worthy of comprehensive study was Edouard Manet whose work had also been inspired by seventeenth century painting. Hunter's friend Samuel John Peploe had also been inspired by Chardin, Kalf and Manet around the same period, returning from an artistic pilgrimage to Holland in 1895 laden with photographs and prints of the artist's work to inspire him to paint works such as Still Life with Roses in a Blue an White Vase (Sotheby's, Gleneagles, 31 August 2005, lot 1070). Peploe had met Hunter as early as 1910 when they were introduced by their mutual friends Edward Archibald Taylor and his wife Jessie Marion King in Paris. However they were not close friends until the later 1920s and even then they were not as close as Peploe was with Fergusson or with Cadell. It is more likely that Peploe and Hunter's appreciation of Dutch painting and the work of Manet was independent and that rather than exchanging views at this time, it was their shared exploration of still life genre through their study of earlier painters that brought them together in later years.

The present picture was painted c1920 and is contemporary with Still Life with a Blue and White Jar (private collection) and The Green Table-Cloth (Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery).