George Leslie Hunter Paintings

Biography

George Leslie Hunter trained at Rothesay Academy. His family emigrated to California in 1892. He worked initially as a magazine illustrator and was due to hold his first exhibition in San Francisco in 1906, when his works were destroyed in a fire caused by the great earthquake that year. The family returned to Europe in 1910 and Hunter’s parents died shortly afterwards. He was active in France in 1914, but was forced to return to England on the outbreak of war. In 1922 he visited Paris, the Côte d’Azur and northern Italy on a painting tour with his friend J. D. Fergusson. In 1924 he visited the USA. From 1927-1929 he was active in south-east France, principally at St-Paul-de-Vence, but also at Cassis and St-Tropez. In 1929 he travelled once again to the USA, but was brought back to Glasgow in failing health by his sister. He convalesced and began painting once more with renewed confidence (a number of still-lifes and portraits of friends date from this period). Hunter died in 1931, following a stomach operation.

Initially, he signed his paintings George, then G. Leslie, and finally Leslie. His drawings, watercolours and illustrations demonstrate his remarkable descriptive skill. His oil paintings are characterised by the use of thick impasto and heavy brushwork, reminiscent of early works by Cézanne (in particular the still-lifes): Still-life with a Pot, a Vase of Roses, a Glass of Wine, Apples and Lemons on a Table Covered with a Cloth.

Group Exhibitions

1916, Glasgow
1923, 1925, London
1924, Painters of Modern Scotland, Paris
1931, Scottish Painters, Paris
1932, Paintings by Six Scottish Artists, London
1939, Three Scottish Painters, London
1949, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
1952, Four Scottish Colourists, Edinburgh
1961, Scottish Painting, Glasgow
2000, The Scottish Colourists 1900-1930: Peploe, Fergusson, Hunter and Cadell, Royal Academy of Arts, London, (exhibition subsequently shown at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh)
2004, Les Coloristes Écossais de 1900 à 1935: Samuel John Peploe, John Duncan Fergusson, George Leslie Hunter, Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris

Solo Exhibitions

1929, New York

Museum and Gallery Holdings

Aberdeen (AG and Mus.): Chinatown, San Francisco (c. 1900-1906, pencil, ink, crayon and wash); Moonlight, Loch Lomond (c. 1924, oil on canvas); Village in Fife (c. 1924, oil on canvas); Anemones (1925-1931, oil on panel)
Edinburgh (Scottish Nat. Gal. of Modern Art): Reflections, Balloch (c. 1929-1930, oil on canvas); Still Life (1930, oil on canvas)
Glasgow (Hunterian AG, University of Glasgow): Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco (1902, coloured chalks on grey paper); Still Life with Apples and a Rose (oil on cardboard); Miss McNair (c. 1931, oil on canvas)
Kirkcaldy (Mus. and AG): The Green Vase (oil); Still Life (oil)
London (Tate Collection): Kitchen Utensils (c. 1914-1918, oil on panel)
Sydney (AG of New South Wales): Blue houseboat, Loch Lomond (oil on canvas)