William Holman Hunt

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William Holman Hunt

67 artworks

artist

Born 1827 - Died 1910

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The Light of the World

1851-1853

Oil on canvas

125.5 x 59.8 cms | 49 1/4 x 23 1/2 ins

Keble College, Oxford, United Kingdom

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Isabella and the Pot of Basil

1867

Oil on canvas

187 x 116.5 cms | 73 1/2 x 45 3/4 ins

Laing Art Gallery, , United Kingdom

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The Awakening Conscience

1853

Oil on canvas

Tate Gallery, London, United Kingdom

The Lady of Shalott

c. 1889-1892

Oil on canvas

44.4 x 34.1 cms | 17 1/4 x 13 1/4 ins

Manchester City Art Galleries, Manchester, United Kingdom

Credit: Carol Gerten Fine Art Index

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The Hireling Shepherd

1851

Oil on canvas

77 x 110 cms | 30 1/4 x 43 1/4 ins

Manchester City Art Galleries, Manchester, United Kingdom

The Light of the World

1851-1856

Oil on canvas

49.8 x 26.1 cms | 19 1/2 x 10 1/4 ins

Manchester City Art Galleries, Manchester, United Kingdom

Afterglow in Egypt

1854

Oil on canvas

185.4 x 86.3 cms | 72 3/4 x 33 3/4 ins

Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton, United Kingdom

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Cairo Street Scene: The Lantern Maker's Courtship

1854-1861

Oil on canvas

54.8 x 34.7 cms | 21 1/2 x 13 1/2 ins

Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom

Credit: Carol Gerten Fine Art Index

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The Lady of Shalott

1905

Oil on canvas

Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, United States

The Light of the World

1900-1904

Oil on canvas

304.8 x 193 cms | 120 x 75 3/4 ins

St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom

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William Holman Hunt
by Paul Ripley

Hunt, a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was born in London, the son of a warehouse manager. Throughout his life he was a devout Christian. He was also serious minded, & lacking in a sense of humour. Hunt joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1844, where he met Millais & Rossetti, &, in fact brought them together. In 1854 Hunt decided to visit the Holy Land, to see for himself the genuine background for the religious pictures he intended to paint. The first tangible results of this journey were two paintings, “The Scapegoat,’ & ( ‘ The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple,’ which was exhibited nationally to great acclaim in 1860, & sold for the sum of 5,500 guineas, Hunt was advised on the price by Charles Dickens.) This sale, which included the copyright established the painter both financially, & artisticly. Hunt’s famous picture ‘The Light of the World,’ was one of the greatest Christian images of the 19th & early 20th centuries. Hunt worked at night on this picture, in an unheated shelter in a wood near Ewell in Surrey.

Hunt did not have the natural talent of Millais, or the intellect & vision of Rossetti. He made up for this by sheer hard work & commitment. He could have been a very successful portrait painter had he chosen to be so. In later years, as his sight started to fail, perhaps, his colours became increasingly harsh. He was still capable of great things, however, as shown by his wonderful late picture ‘The Lady of Shallott, surely one of the most powerful Pre-Raphaelite images.

In his last years Hunt became the patriach of Victorian painting. He was awarded the Order of Merit by King Edward VII in 1905. Hunt married firstly Fanny Waugh, & after her death in childbirth her younger sister Edith. He was also a far more attractive personality than is generally supposed, with a wide range of interests, which included horse racing & boxing. He died in 1910.

Source: Victorian Art in Britain.

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