A LIFE IN COLOUR. LESLIE HUNTER (1877-1931): SCOTTISH COLOURIST:CITY ART CENTRE, EDINBURGH: SUNDAY 14TH OCTOBER, 2012
Throughout my visit to Leslie Hunter’s exhibition I was amazed by his eclectic style; self taught, like many artists he was in search of the ‘Hunter’style, experimenting with watercolour, sketches, illustrations and oils. His work could be quite childlike at times and he was known to be a manic-depressive. My discussion will revolve around my tour of the exhibition, a talk given by a gallery guide and notes which I hurriedly scribbled whilst trying to concentrate on the works before me. Dates and locations may change around the tour, as well as descriptions of inspirations and influences.
His father bought an orange grove in California and the family moved there from Scotland when he was 13 years of age. Hunter worked as an illustrator and was about to have his first exhibition when catastrophe struck and he lost much of his work in 1906 in the Great Earthquake in San Francisco. Hunter, distraught by his loss, moved back to Scotland and began to focus on Still Life painting.
Studying the work of French painters such as Cézanne, Van Gogh and Matisse, Hunter became influenced by these artists and their techniques. He worked in shape, pattern and colour, red dominating, (The Fauves). Hunter was very influenced by seventeenth Century Dutch painting which depicted dark backgrounds. He painted flowers and oranges.
1927-28 he moved to France where he enjoyed the good weather and light, which was in stark contrast to Glasgow. He began to experiment more with vibrant colour, developing his Scottish Colourist style, using purple for shadows and interestingly he exchanged art work for food and board.
A stunning painting within the collection was ‘Anemones in a red vase, yellow teacup and apples’ 1927-28. Thick brush strokes and the use of a palette knife are evident and mark making. The use of outline and a strong use of white with blue, grey and green shadows can be seen in the folded cloth within the composition. In my opinion this work was quite clearly influenced by Cezanne and his Impressionist style.
Moving on through the exhibition I viewed works by Stanley Cursitar (A Glass of Milk, 1923) and Anne Redpath, (Black and White Checks, 1952) interestingly the only female in the exhibition. Works by J.D.Fergusson (The Blue Lamp,1907 ) and Peploe, who spent 20 years perfecting Still Life painting. Willem Heda, Dutch painter from 1650’s, painted dark backgrounds, glowing objects, silverware, ceramic and glass, in a photographic, realistic manner. Exotic and domestic objects were included and Religious symbolism was depicted in the form of nuts, the Holy Trinity.
Suffering a mental breakdown, Hunter also became seriously ill after swallowing turpentine stored in a wine bottle. By the start of the 1930s his reputation was growing and he remarked: “I have been kicking at the door so long and at last it is beginning to open.
His time spent in London showed Hunter using lots of black; he painted St George’s Hospital and St Martin’s Church, blocked by a pillar of the National Gallery. When he returned to Glasgow in 1931 he painted tranquil scenes of Loch Lomond and houseboats at Ballock. His health deteriorated and following an operation for a ruptured gall bladder he died in Glasgow on 7 December 1931 at the age of 54.
Visiting the City Arts Centre to view this wonderful exhibition opened my eyes to other artists associated with the Scottish Colourists, who are amongst my favourite group of artists. I have become more familiar with the Glasgow Boys, Anne Redpath and 17th Century Dutch painting and have included examples of these works for future learning and teaching reference within this Blog.
