Colin Hunter (1841 – 24 September 1904) was a Scottish artist of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. Most of his works are seascapes.

Early life

Hunter was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1841. About 1844, his father moved the family to

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

, on the coast of the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

, where he opened a bookshop and was also post-master. In his youth Hunter spent most of his spare time sketching from nature, and on leaving school he became a clerk in a shipping office in Glasgow, where he stayed for four years. There he met and befriended

William Black William Black may refer to: Politicians * William Black (Ontario politician) (1867–1944), speaker of the Legislature of Ontario and Conservative MLA * William Black (Canadian politician) (1869–1930), Progressive party member of the Canadian Hou ...

, a journalist who later became a novelist, and began to study at a local art school, often working out of doors with Milne Donald, a painter who taught him landscape painting.

Career

At the age of twenty, Hunter left his clerical job to become a painter. Some time later, he spent some months in the studio of Leon Bonnat in Paris, but this did not change his style. Some of Hunter's early work was exhibited in the Glasgow Institute of Fine Art and the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

. In 1868, Hunter presented his first notable painting, ''Taking in the nets'', at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in London. He became an

Associate Member of the Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1884 and exhibited nearly one hundred paintings in the Universal Exhibitions in Berlin, Vienna, and Philadelphia between 1886 and 1891. Although he returned to Scotland to paint nearly every year, from 1876 Hunter lived in Melbury Road,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, on the west side of

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

. His house and studio was huge and he kept company with other celebrated artists. Melbury Road and its adjacent streets became an enclave of successful artists in the last quarter of the 19th century - most of whom were Academicians. Hunter’s artist friends and neighbours included

Lord Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British Victorian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classi ...

George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817 – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolism (arts), Symbolist movement. Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical works, such as ''Hope (Watts), Hop ...

, and

Luke Fildes Sir Samuel Luke Fildes (3 October 1843 – 28 February 1927) was a British painter and illustrator born in Liverpool and trained at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington and Royal Academy Schools. He was the grandson of the political act ...

. He was predominantly a painter of seascapes and working fisher-folk on the shore in fishing villages up and down the Scottish coast, but he also painted in Ireland, Cornwall, and Devon, and travelled to New York, where he painted the Niagara Falls.

Personal life

On 20 November 1873, in Glasgow, Hunter married Isabella Young, daughter of John H. Young, surgeon-dentist. They had two daughters and two sons. His son John Young Hunter, and his son’s wife, Mary, were also artists. Hunter died in September 1904, at Lugar House, 14 Melbury Road, Kensington, leaving a substantial estate valued at £11,400,"HUNTER Colin of 14 Melbury-road Kensington Middlesex died 24 September 1904 Probate London 17 October to Isabella Rattray Hunter widow John Garrett Morten solicitor and John Young Hunter artist Effects £11400 12s. 6d." in ''Probate Index for England and Wales'' (1904), p. 256 .

References

External links

Colin Hunter
Victorian Artists * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Colin 1841 births 1904 deaths 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Artists from Glasgow 19th-century Scottish male artists