Biography

George Sherwood Hunter - 1846 - 1919

George Sherwood Hunter was born in Aberdeen on 30 May 1846. He visited Newlyn around the turn of the century, and settled there permanently in 1902. He lived at the Malt House with his wife Constance Mary. Hunter had a studio in Bateman’s Meadow, below the grounds of Orchard Cottage. This was also where Stanhope Forbes had his classrooms.

Like many of the Newlyn artists, Hunter was widely travelled and these experiences inevitably influenced his painting style. The only painting in Penlee House's collection, 'At Prayer', was executed whilst in Pont-Aven, a place where most of the Newlyn artists had visited.

Hunter died on 18 June 1919 and Constance died just five months later. The couple had no children of their own and so Hunter’s share in the meadow studios was left to his two sisters in Aberdeen. The Malt House, orchard and cottage were left to Hunter’s nephew, also called Sherwood.

During his lifetime, Hunter exhibited a great many works, including sixteen in the Royal Academy and over sixty at the Royal College of British Artists. Few of Hunter’s works have been seen since his death.