The Hunt Gallery
An interview with Rosemary and Michael Hunt and a tour of their Gallery in Sandwich, Kent.
The Hunt Gallery opened in 1972 in the medieval town of Sandwich, Kent to represent the work of Michael John Hunt. They carry a very varied collection of paintings - everything from landscapes to traditional interiors; acrylics to oils, etchings to watercolours. Places are recorded in real time and in all of Michael's work there is a magical use of light and textures, of a sense of calm and tranquillity.
Michael John Hunt, ‘Lindy Hop’, oil on canvas, 36" x 34".
MH: ‘Over the May Bank Holiday weekend every year, Sandwich 'Celebrates the 40s'. This is a chance for the shops to dress their windows with 1940s paraphernalia and for people to dress up. A group of dedicated dancers evoke the period by dancing their way through the weekend in a street festival and lots of live music of the time. I have always liked the music and the movements and I like to capture such moments with a quick sketch or three.’
Michael, when did you first start painting?
Michael Hunt: I started painting professionally in 1969. Having work accepted for the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon, I was contacted by a wonderful gallery in Amsterdam. They kept me busy with commissions, exhibitions and excellent coffee for over 35 years and my work ethic and processes stem from those years. I would often fly over for the day, make three or four drawings (one or two hours each), taking photos for detail etc. I would fly home the same day and once back in the studio I would prepare canvases and panels in readiness for transferring the drawings. Size would usually be determined by the client or subject matter. This manner of working has continued. I generally start a painting with a toned ground or imprimatura and build up the tonal values leaving the highlights till last. A week is a good average for a painting though it does vary with size and complexity but I do like the continuity of working on one painting at a time. Framing is subject to fashion but, as my work is of a traditional nature, I generally prefer a simple black frame used on many early Dutch and Flemish paintings. Such frames seem to draw you into the image without promoting themselves.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Inspiration comes in many guises, perhaps defined by mood and motivation. To create something from nothing is in itself satisfying but I like to record anything I see that I find interesting. If I like it, I'll paint it. If I don't, I won't!
Tell us about ‘Watchful Eyes’.
While enjoying the treasures of the Rijks Museum I became aware of the audience reaction to The Night Watch. For some it seemed to be a click on the iPhone 'been there, done that'. For others it was the realisation of lifelong ambition to see such a wonderful, world renowned painting. And for others, it was almost reverence. The modern group in the painting captured all those feelings while still under the watchful eyes of the room watcher. The watchers being watched by the watchers being watched. I found that amusing.
Rosemary, how has Covid-19 affected your business and what changes if any have you seen?
Rosemary Hunt: What a year! We are not going to be beaten by a bug (well, at least not if we can help it)! As the saying goes, you can't teach an old dog new tricks but even as we approach our 50th year of running the gallery, we still feel young at heart. We are going to adapt and succeed in this new era.. Our exhibitions may have been cancelled, our gallery may have been told to shut (albeit temporarily) but we are on the case. It’s time for us to embrace the internet and other ways of staying in touch with Michael’s collectors. We are moving on to Instagram and Facebook . Our website is updated regularly and we have developed virtual tours of our collections to view online. We have regular newsletters to keep in touch with our clients old and new. Visitors to the gallery will always find a warm welcome (and probably a cup of tea!). With the help of the organisers of the exhibitions we used to attend we are able to promote ourselves together with our co-exhibitors. An added benefit of this is that our audience is likely to be those familiar faces and collectors who usually attend the shows and are now happy to see us in virtual form.
Michael John Hunt, ‘Watchful eyes’, oil on canvas, 36" x 28".
Michael John Hunt, ‘Quackers’, acrylic on panel, 16" x 12".
MH: ‘Quackers the duck moves around the house but he's always there, somewhere. On this particular day he was caught in the bright sunshine, part in shadow, part highlighted, rather like the small wooden rocking horse in the foreground.’
Do you have any advice about how to position artworks in the home and/or in gallery settings?
It is very difficult to give advice on the best way to hang paintings. In the gallery we try to keep a single hanging and give space around each painting. We continue that practice at exhibitions as much as we can - we obviously need to optimise the valuable wall space but we also need to bear in mind that each painting has its own requirements. In the home, it can be a totally different approach. For some, more is better, and every space is taken up. But others prefer to keep it simple. As a general principle, it is said that a painting is best hung at eye level. This is perfectly satisfactory unless one partner is extremely tall and the other is extremely short. In which case I would advise buying two paintings!
See more from The Hunt Gallery at thehuntgallery.com and their Instagram.
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