Leslie Hunter
| George Leslie Hunter | |
|---|---|
The Beach, Largo, at Low Tide, date unknown, Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
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| Born |
7 August 1877 Rothesay, Isle of Bute |
| Died | 7 December 1931 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Known for | Graphic artist; Artist in paper media & Oils |
| Movement | Post-Impressionism |
| Awards | Artist Member of Glasgow Art Club |
| Patron(s) | T.J. Honeyman, Alexander Reid, Matthew Justice |
George Leslie Hunter (7 August 1877 – 7 December 1931), was christened simply George Hunter, but he adopted the name Leslie in San Francisco, and Leslie Hunter, became his professional name. Showing an aptitude for drawing at an early age, he was largely self-taught, receiving only elementary painting lessons from a family acquaintance. A Scottish painter, he also spent fifteen formative years from the age of fifteen in the USA, mainly in California. He was later regarded as one of the four artists of the Scottish Colourists group of painters. Following his youth in California, he returned to Scotland, painting and drawing there and in Paris. Subsequently, he traveled widely in Europe, especially in the South of France, but also in the Netherlands, the Pas de Calais and Italy. Hunter painted a variety of still-lifes, landscapes and portraits, and his paintings are critically acclaimed for their treatment of light and the effects of light. They became popular with more progressive critics and collectors during his lifetime and have grown to command high prices since his death, becoming among the most popular in Scotland.
Hunter was born in Rothesay, at 7 Tower Street, on the Isle of Bute. The date was 7 August 1877. He was the youngest child of five, born to William and Jeanie (née Stewart) Hunter. George, as he was then known, showed an aptitude for drawing when very young and when he was about thirteen, his mother arranged for him to have painting lessons with a lady acquaintance. In February 1892, Hunter's elder sister Catherine died. Shortly after, in March, another elder sibling, James, also died. Both were in their early twenties. It is thought they may have been victims of an influenza pandemic. William, the father, and Jeanie, seem already to have contemplated emigrating, because a home had been sold. Evidently, the tragic deaths sealed the matter, and the remaining family departed for California via New York on 1 September 1892, aboard the SS Ethiopia.
Thus Hunter was fifteen when he emigrated with his parents and two surviving siblings to California. Initially, he lived with his family on an orange grove, 50 miles east of Los Angeles. He continued sketching and loved the climate, but showed little interest in farm management. Hunter began making a living in 1896, primarily as a newspaper and journal illustrator. He mixed with significant literary figures such as Bret Harte and Jack London, who were associated with the San Francisco Bohemian Club. Hunter provided illustrations for Overland Monthly. In 1899, a full-page black and white drawing for Overland Monthly is signed G. Leslie Hunter, the first recorded occasion of his use of "Leslie." In 1902, Hunter became part of a group of artists that included Maynard Dixon and Arthur Putnam. They desired independence from the hierarchies of the establishment art world and, together, they formed the California Society of Arts as an alternative to the conservative San Francisco Art Association. Clearly, Hunter had a completely different artistic exposure compared with others of the Scottish Colourists group, such as John Duncan Fergusson or Samuel John Peploe. Hunter was at this stage quite a successful American graphic artist, considering his young age. "Sunset, The Pacific Monthly", was another journal commissioning his work and altogether, Smith & Marriner catalogue over two hundred publication and book illustrations commissioned from Hunter.
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