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Marigolds, surely the most precocious member of the Daisy family, were a favourite subject of George Leslie Hunter. T. J. Honeyman, Hunter’s biographer and at the time a partner in the firm of Reid & Lefevre, recalled a visit to the Gallery by Clive Bell who completed a tour of inspection and pointed to a still life of marigolds in the corner: ‘That is the finest picture in the exhibition, and I don’t know who painted it.’ From this Honeyman determined to write his book Introducing Leslie Hunter, published by Faber in 1937. Hunter had his first show with Alexander Reid in Glasgow in 1916, a show well received and supported. He was living on his uncle’s farm near Larkhall, trying to get himself fit for the dreaded call-up. His still lifes from this time are fresh, direct paintings which have something of the expressionist joy of Matisse rather than the analysis of Cubism. His palette is white based, his impasto rich and application confident as he emerges from his Dutch or Spanish influenced work to a place where his work chimes with Peploe and Cadell as one of the four Scottish Colourists.
Born in Rothesay in 1877, George Leslie Hunter emigrated to California in 1892 where his father bought a farm. He spent all his time drawing and when his family came back in 1900 he stayed to become part of the Bohemian lifestyle of San Francisco. He earned money by acquiring illustration work for newspapers and magazines. He went to New York with friends and then on to Paris in 1904, working in each city for a few months. Back in San Francisco he lost everything in the 1906 earthquake and shortly thereafter returned permanently to Scotland. He had his first solo exhibition with Alexander Reid in Glasgow in 1915, an association which continued until his death in 1931.
From 1923 he exhibited with Peploe and Cadell as the Three Scottish Colourists, and spent much of the twenties in France, often subsidised by Reid and a coterie of dedicated collectors, including T.J. Honeyman who wrote his biography after his untimely death at the age of fifty-four. He also showed regularly with The Scottish Gallery and we have continued to deal actively in his work in recent years.
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