Graves International Art

Thomas Hunt (1854-1929) was born in Skipton, Yorkshire in 1854, the sixth child of 10, of John Hunt and his wife Betty (nee Wood) who married in 1848. John’s main occupation was limestone merchant and canal carrier, and he had also been an inspector of tolls. In 1877 he stood for election as a Liberal candidate in the South Ward of Leeds, duly winning by 34 votes. He remained as a councillor until 1892 when he retired from politics. Thomas initially started out as a commercial clerk, probably working for his father, however by the age of 21 he had become a full-time artist, having been inspired to do so after attending an International Art Exhibition in Leeds at the age of 15.

There is reference to him studying in Paris and that he attended The Glasgow School of Art and the Leeds equivalent, however there is no evidence from either school which supports that. He was educated at the Lancastrian School, Leeds, then settled in Glasgow in 1878. By 1879 he was living at 113 West Regent Street in Glasgow, that address consisting of a number of offices, housing professional people such as architects, writers and accountants, and six artist studios, one of which he occupied. In 1884 another studio at that address was occupied by the artist Helen Russell Salmon, who he eventually married a few years later.

Helen, born in 1855 in Glasgow, was the daughter of the architect James Salmon, whose company James Salmon and Son, was involved with the building of a number of public and professional structures in Glasgow between 1862 and 1903. She married Thomas Hunt on 27 October 1887. Her usual residence was given as 3 Broompark Circus, which is where her marriage took place.

In 1891 Thomas and Helen were living in Garelochhead, which is where she died in August of that year. Thomas eventually moved back to Glasgow and by 1895 was living at 219 West George Street. Between then and his death he stayed at various Glasgow addresses including Hope Street, Holland Street, Bath Street, and finally Hill Street in Garnethill. His work included genre, animal life, portraiture and landscapes, in oil as well as watercolour. He exhibited frequently at the RA, the RSA, and the Paris Salon, where he was awarded a medal in 1891. He joined the Glasgow Art Club in 1879 and was the club’s president for 1906–07. He exhibited at the club and elsewhere including at the RSW annual shows, the Burns Exhibition of 1896 in Glasgow, and also several times from 1881 at the Royal Academy in London. He also exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts between 1879–1929, the last time being posthumous. He was elected RSW in 1885, ARSA in 1925.