© Captain Cook Birthplace Museum
A Study from Nature, of an Old Man who sailed with Captain Cook on his First Voyage
Artist: William Henry Hunt (1790 - 1864)
Location: Captain Cook Birthplace Museum
Date: circa 1828
Materials: watercolour
Dimensions: 42.7 x 39cm
Grant:
Amount Paid: £9,000 (Total: £12,000)
Vendor: Caroline Gee
Review number: 5775 (2006)
Provenance:
Caroline Gee.
Description:
This is a rare portrait of an aged survivor of James Cook's first great voyage of scientific discovery. Images of crew members tend to be of commissioned officers or those who went onto prominent careers in the navy. Although the subject is unknown, he seems to be a retired mariner in an ecclesiastical-type setting. He is possibly one of only 3 surviving crew members at the time it was painted.
There is one comment on this artwork
Unfortunately, this is not the watercolor by William Henry Hunt which was exhibited at the Society of Painters in Watercolours as being a portrait of an old sailor who sailed with Captain Cook. That watercolor was sold at Christie's South Kensington on 28 June 1988, No. 4, under the title "An Old Sea Dog." It mesures 15 1/2 X 10 5/8 inches and is signed by Hunt, in the style he used in the late 1820s. It depicts a man of even more humble means, holding a clay pipe, sitting on a stool, and looking out at the viewer. At the upper right corner of the picture, Hunt painted on the wall a portion of a copy of a famous print of Captain Cook. I would be happy to provide anyone who is interesed with an image of the actual watercolor by William Henry Hunt. This picture, from the Captain Cook Museum, bears little resemblance to Hunt's work. Craig W. Englund
2007-07-02 08:08:00
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