Alfred William Hunt

LOT 136 ALFRED WILLIAM HUNT 1830 - 1896 CAPEL CURIG WITH SNOWDON AND THE GLYDERS IN THE DISTANCE, NORTH WALES 3,000—5,000 GBP MEASUREMENTS 24.9 by 34.5 cm.; 9 3/4 by 13 1/2 in. DESCRIPTION signed l.c.: A W Hunt / 1856 watercolour over pencil with touches of bodycolour, heightened with scratching out, stopping out and gum arabic PROVENANCE with The Boydell Galleries, Liverpool

Alfred William Hunt, R.W.S. (1830-1896) Theatre of Herodes Atticus, Athens with inscription 'A drawing by Alfred William Hunt RWS, one of aseries painted during a tour in 1870. I bought the drawing offViolet Hunt, October 1913 W Matthew Hale' (on the backing) pencil and watercolour 6 3/8 x 9½ in. (16.3 x 24 cm.) Provenance Violet Hunt. William Matthew Hale R.W.S (1837-1929).

Alfred William Hunt, R.W.S. (1830-1896) The Parthenon, Athens signed and inscribed 'THE PARTHENON (unfinished) about 1860/byAlfred W. Hunt R.W.S. Cooper. Sparrows, Shelby/Suffolk' (on theartist's label attached to the backboard) pencil and watercolour 9½ x 14¾ in. (24.3 x 37.5 cm.) Special Notice Provenance Venetia Benson neé Hunt, the daughter of the artist, and bydescent in the family. Lot Notes See lot 115 for details of the current exhibition of thisartist's work.

Alfred William Hunt, R.W.S. (1830-1896) 'When the leaves begin to turn' signed with initials (and indistinctly dated) 'AWH' (lower left)and further signed, dated and inscribed 'No 2 When the leaves beginto turn Alfred W. Hunt 1856' (on an old label on the reverse) oil on canvas 17¼ x 15¼ in. (43.7 x 38.7 cm.) Special Notice Provenance with Agnew's, Liverpool. Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 1 May 1880, lot 145 (36gns). with The Fine Art Society, London. Exhibited London, Royal Academy, 1857, no. 994. Lot Notes This early Pre-Raphaelite landscape dates from the formativeyears of Hunt's career, when he was championed by Ruskin. Born inLiverpool, the son of a painter, he graduated from Corpus Christi,Oxford, in 1852. He met Ruskin, a fellow winner of the NewdigatePrize for English verse, through a shared passion for Turner; andit was probably Ruskin who encouraged Hunt to abandon an academiccareer and pursue his ideals of fidelity to nature in Art. Havingbeen elected an Associate of the Liverpool Academy in 1854, Huntexhibited at the Royal Academy between 1854 and 1857. His firstpatron was James Wyatt, a print-dealer and Mayor of Oxford, whoseportrait by Millais has recently been seen at the Academy in thecollection of Lord Lloyd Webber. Hunt's output was limited, but ischaracterised by intense observation and attention to detail. Inlater years he worked mainly in watercolour, and it is rare to findsuch an early oil preserved in its original frame in remarkablecondition.

Alfred William Hunt, R.W.S. (1830-1896) Goring Lock, Stormy Day signed with initials 'AWH' (lower right) and with inscription'Goring Lock Stormy Day by Alfred RWS' (on the reverse) pencil and watercolour with scratching out 9¼ x 14¾ in. (23.5 x 37.5 cm.) Special Notice Provenance with Abbott and Holder, London, June 1995. Lot Notes Lots 7 and 9 are both views on the upper Thames, a favouritehaunt of Hunt's. Another example is Early Morning: Sonning,Berkshire in the Fuller Collection (Christie's, London, 7 April2000, lot 15, ilustrated in catalogue). G.P. Boyce also found richinspiration in this area, painting many views at Streatley,Sonning, Mapledurham and so on.