A superb genre painting of two men and a boy with donkeys and other animals in cottage by Charles Hunt. Two men are depicted conversing at a table in rustic surroundings as a boy watches on. Meanwhile, two donkeys and a pig can be seen chewing the leaves of a turnip on the floor nearby as a small dog stares out at the viewer. Through the open door to the far left, we are shown a glimpse of a garden path leading to a gate with trees and a landscape beyond.

Charles Hunt was a genre and figure painter born in Kensington, London in 1829. His sons Reuben Hunt (1858-1938), Walter Hunt (1861-1941), Claude Hunt (1863-1949) and Edgar Hunt (1876-1955) all became artists. His nephew Harry Brooker was also an artist. He taught all of his sons to paint and most likely his nephew, as their styles and subject matter are similar.

He married Ann Sarah Kilbee on 19 May, 1857 and they lived at Pomona Place in Fulham. The couple had 8 children in total. He began exhibiting at the British Institution from 1858 and at the Royal Academy from 1862. By 1871 he was living at Barclay Road, Fulham before moving to 6 Granville Road in Wandsworth.

Hunt painted highly detailed, humorous scenes often of families within cottage interiors, mainly in oils. His paintings often contain donkeys and other domestic animals such as dogs, illustrating his in-depth knowledge of their anatomy and draughtsmanship as well as his affection for them. He died in Wandsworth in March, 1900, aged 70 and was buried at Brompton Cemetery in on 22 March, 1900.

Examples of his work are held by a number of public institutions including the Bury Art Museum, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, Ferens Art Gallery, Harris Museum, Museum of the Home, National Maritime Museum, National Trust, Runcorn Town Hall and Stockport Heritage Services.

© Benton Fine Art