Leslie Hunter

George Leslie Hunter
The Beach, Largo, at Low Tide, date unknown, Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Born(1877-08-07)7 August 1877
Died(1931-12-07)7 December 1931
Glasgow, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Known forGraphic artist; Artist in paper media & Oils
MovementPost-Impressionism
AwardsArtist Member of Glasgow Art Club
Patron(s)T.J. Honeyman, Alexander Reid, Matthew Justice
Dr Tom J Honeyman by Leslie Hunter c.1930

George Leslie Hunter (7 August 1877 – 7 December 1931) was a Scottish painter, regarded as one of the four artists of the Scottish Colourists group of painters.[1][2] Christened simply George Hunter, he adopted the name Leslie in San Francisco,[3] 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. He spent fourteen years from the age of fifteen in the US, mainly in California.[4] Hunter made an extended trip to Scotland, Paris and New York from 1903 to 1905. In 1906 he left San Francisco and returned to Scotland, painting and drawing there, notably in Fife and at Loch Lomond. Subsequently he travelled widely in Europe, especially in the South of France, but also in the Netherlands, the Pas de Calais and Italy. He also returned to New York in 1924 and 1928–1929.[4]

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.[5] Except, what Hunter set out to do was not about light, but to capture the essence of nature through pure colour.[6][7] His paintings 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.[5]

  1. ^ "The Scottish Colourists". Explore Art. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  2. ^ Billcliffe, Roger (1996). The Scottish colourists: Cadell, Fergusson, Hunter and Peploe. Murray, J. pp. 76–80. ISBN 0-7195-5437-3.
  3. ^ Cornwell, Tim (21 July 2012). "The true colours of Scottish painter George Leslie Hunter". The Scotsman.
  4. ^ a b Smith, Bill; Marriner, Jill (2012). Hunter revisited – The life and work of Leslie Hunter. Atelier Books, Edinburgh. ISBN 978-1-873830-23-9.
  5. ^ a b "50 interesting facts about the Gallery of Modern Art". National Galleries of Scotland. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  6. ^ Honeyman, T.J. (1937). Introducing Leslie Hunter. Faber & Faber Ltd
  7. ^ "George Leslie Hunter: a brilliant Scottish colourist". ArtUK.