Robert Hunter (painter) facts for kids
Robert Hunter was a talented portrait painter from Ulster, a region in Ireland. He was active from about 1748 to 1780. Hunter worked mostly in Dublin during the mid-1700s. He learned his painting skills from an artist named Pope. Hunter tried to make his paintings look like those of the famous old masters, especially in how he used colors. He was known for capturing a very good likeness of the people he painted.
About Robert Hunter
Hunter was born in Ulster, but we don't know the exact year. By 1748, he was already painting portraits. His early works often showed people from the waist up, with a landscape in the background. Hunter's daughter, Marianne, also became an artist. She later married another portrait painter, John Trotter.
Hunter's portraits were very good at showing what people really looked like. He had many customers until another painter, Robert Home, arrived in Dublin around 1780. Home started to get many of Hunter's best clients.
Hunter helped start the Dublin Society of Artists. He often showed his paintings at their exhibitions. Many of his portraits were later made into prints using a special method called mezzotint. This included paintings of important people like John, Lord Naas, and Simon, Earl Harcourt. He also painted a famous portrait of John Wesley, which was done in Dublin.
Hunter's Career Highlights
Robert Hunter was considered the top portrait painter in Ireland for a long time. He had a large and successful business. In 1752, a portrait he painted of Tom Echlin, a well-known Dublin wit, was made into a print. In 1753, he painted Sir Charles Burton, who was the Lord Mayor of Dublin. This painting was also later made into a print.
In 1763, the Dublin Society gave Hunter an award of ten guineas for a full-length portrait of Lord Taaffe. A guinea was an old British coin. This painting was also turned into a mezzotint print.
Hunter showed six of his works at an exhibition in 1765. One of these was a painting called "Susanna and the Elders." He regularly showed his art at Dublin artist exhibitions until 1777. He even showed work again in 1800. In 1788, the city of Dublin asked him to fix a portrait of King Charles II.
Even though his popularity went down after Robert Home arrived, Hunter held an exhibition and sale of his own paintings in 1792. He was still alive in 1803, but we don't know the exact date he passed away. People who knew him said he was like a walking history book about Irish artists and art.
Hunter's paintings are known for their good use of color and show a lot of skill. One example is a "Portrait of a Gentleman" that was once in Bellevue, Co. Wicklow. This painting was so good it could almost be mistaken for a work by famous artists like Reynolds or Cotes. People said he was a true gentleman and would have been even more famous if he had worked in a place or time where art was better understood.
Known Portrait Paintings
Here are some of the known paintings by Robert Hunter:
- John Bowes, Lord Chancellor (a high legal official).
- Captain L. Brabazon, R.N. (Royal Navy).
- John, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire. Painted in 1780.
- Sir Charles Burton, Lord Mayor in 1753.
- Henry, 12th Earl and 1st Marquess of Clanricarde. This painting shows him in his robes as a Knight of St. Patrick.
- William Cradock, Dean of St. Patrick's (a church leader).
- Alexander Crookshank, Justice of the Common Pleas (a judge).
- Mrs. Crookshank.
- Arthur Dobbs, M.P. (a member of Parliament).
- Tom Echlin. An etching was made from this picture in 1752.
- Simon, Earl Harcourt, Lord Lieutenant (a high-ranking official). The head was painted by Hunter, and the body by another artist, Doughty.
- Simon, Earl Harcourt, Lord Lieutenant. This painting is in the Belfast Art Gallery.
- W. Todd Jones.
- George, Earl Macartney, as a young man.
- Samuel Madden.
- John Mears, a Presbyterian Minister.
- John, Lord Naas.
- William, Lord Newbattel, later the 5th Marquess of Lothian.
- Sir Edward O'Brien, 2nd Bart.
- Lady O'Brien.
- Richard, Viscount Powerscourt.
- Nicholas, Lord Taaffe; a full-length painting showing him in his robes. This painting won an award in 1763.
- George, Earl Temple, Lord Lieutenant, later Marquess of Buckingham.
- John Wesley. This painting was done in Dublin.
- Sigismunda. Shown at an exhibition in 1800.
- A group painting of children blowing soap bubbles.
- A Gentleman in a blue, Russian-style costume. He is standing by a window with an architectural plan on it. This painting is signed by Hunter and dated 1771.
- A Gentleman, with a dog and a gun, sitting in a landscape. This painting is also signed by Hunter.
