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THOMAS WATSON HUNSTER (1851 - 1929)
View of a Valley
.
Oil on linen canvas, circa 1900-10. 787x546 mm; 31x21
1
/
2
inches. Signed in oil, lower left.
Provenance: private collection, MD.
This large Impressionist canvas is a scarce painting by this turn of the century artist fromWashington,
DC. Born in Cincinnati in 1851, Thomas W. Hunster had an almost 50 year long career as an art
educator in Washington schools beginning in 1871. In a 1892 survey of Washington DC schools,
Hunster was described - “first appointed in 1875, was still in charge of the drawing in all colored
schools of the city” and praised for his inventive construction work in the 1888 “Industrial
Exhibition of the Washington Colored Schools.”
Artistically, Hunster is known for his
Exposition des Nègres de Amerique
, a series of paintings depicting
the history of African-Americans from 1865 at the 1900World’s Fair in Paris. In his
Modern Negro Art
,
James A. Porter mentions “Thomas W. Hunster of Washington” as a notable art contributor to both
the Jamestown and Charleston Tercentennial Expositions of 1907. Hunster was given a memorial
exhibition at Howard University in April of 1951. The Hunster historic home is listed in Prince
George’s County; biographical notes courtesy of their publication
African-American Historial Homes and
Resources
. Prince George’s County p. 94; Porter p. 76; Clarke pp. 246-47.
[3,000/5,000]