Lot 38
R. Hunt (Active 1847)
Lot 38 Details
R. Hunt (Active 1847), British
ALFRED OPENSHAW, BORN 1846
Oil on canvas; signed “Painted by R. Hunt”, titled “Alfred Openshaw Born Gen’y (July?)” and dated 1847 in a handpainted scrolled black cartouche centered on the canvas verso
34" x 27" — 83.8 x 68.6 cm.
Estimate $4,000-$6,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
Christie’s, New York, “The British Interior”January 21-22, 1998, lot 340;
From whom purchased by Jonny Kalisch, Canada;
His Estate, Shakespeare, Ontario
Literature:
James Ayres, “English Naive Painting”, London, 1981, pl. 21;
James Ayres, “British Folk Art”, Woodstock, NY, 1977, p. 104, illustrated full page in colour opposite page 104;
James Ayres, “Two Hundred Years of English Native Art 1700-1900”, Alexandria, VA, 1996, no. 5, pp. 40-41 and illustrated front cover
Exhibited:
London, U. S. Embassy, “American and British Folk Art”, 1976;
Manchester, Cornerhouse Arts Centre, “The Art of the People, 1985-1986;”
Brighton, University of Brighton, A Common Tradition, 1991;
The Judkyn/Pratt Collection In “Two Hundred Years of English Naive Art 1700-1900”, 23 November 1996 - 29 November 1997, Cat. No. 5, Circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia
Note:
The surname “Openshaw” derives from an area of Manchester, England, about two miles east of the city centre. Its name derives from the Old English “Opinschawe”, which means an open wood or coppice.
The child is clothed in typical dress for small boys until the age of four years. His coral necklace relates to a superstition, dating back to classical antiquity, that coral warded off evil spirits. The hen depicted with her chicks suggests that Alfred was adopted.