Attrib. William Henry Hunt OWS, Fruit Still Life – Mid-19th-century watercolour painting

An original mid-19th-century watercolour painting – Attrib. William Henry Hunt OWS, Fruit Still Life.A sumptuous nature still life featuring plums, apples, cobnuts and a pear.William Henry Hunt OWS (1790–1864) was greatly admired for his still life compositions. He was particularly fond of depicting birds' nests, earning him the nickname ‘Bird’s Nest Hunt’. He tended to paint these works in his studio, working from carefully selected specimens of fruit, flowers and nests arranged on freshly dug turf, moss and leaves; the composition was then maintained until the painting was finished. Hunt attended especially to the illusion of the surface qualities of his objects, while his approach to the background remained more suggestive.The style and handling of paint in the present painting, executed with an artful combination of loose flair and detailed stippling, is very similar to Hunt. Whilst he customarily sign his works 'W. HUNT', the handwriting here is neater than Hunt's usual signature. The assignation was possibly added subsequently by a different hand.in watercolour with gum arabic on artist's board.