Thomas Watson Hunster Sold at Auction Prices

THOMAS WATSON HUNSTER (1851 - 1929) View of a Valley.

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 from Washington, 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 1900 World'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. Huntster 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.