LYNN BOGUE HUNT One of Lynn Bogue Hunt's most prized possessions was a small painting of fluffy chicks that he kept on the wall of his New York studio. It had been done by his mother before he was born and to her he gave credit for his love of painting and of the outdoors. He was born in 1878 in Honeoye Falls, which is about 15 miles south of Rochester, New York. While still a child he drew wildlife with pencil and colored crayons, and as he got older he caught birds to skin and clean as best he could to pin to his bedroom walls; all with the encouragement of his mother. When he was about 12, he went to Albion, Michigan where his grandmother was living. He continued to show a strong interest in the study and drawing of wildlife; he also learned taxidermy and made his first money stuffing owls, hawks, ducks, and pet parrots. He was an ardent hunter and fisherman, and these were hobbies he was to maintain all his life. After high school in Albion, Mr. Hunt attended Albion College. The art instructor at that time was Professor F. C. Courter, "a wonderful teacher and gifted painter," as Mr. Hunt was often to say in later years, who provided much inspiration and encouragement. Another student at Albion in those days was Miss Jessie Bryan of Wyandotte, Michigan, whom Mr. Hunt later married. They had two sons: Lynn Bogue Hunt, Jr., and Bryan. After three years in college Mr. Hunt got a job as staff artist at the Detroit Free Press. Simultaneously he began submitting wildlife artwork to various national magazines in New York, and some Success in this endeavor led him to move to New York to try his luck in the city. His work continued to sell and as it was published more widely it attracted the attention of arms and ammunition manufacturers who soon were buying his paintings for use in advertising. Mr. Hunt sold his first illustration to Field and Stream in 1925. For many years after that there were few issues of it that didn't carry something of his. Mr. Ray Holland, now 84 years old but still active, was Editor of Field and Stream at that time. He says Mr. Hunt would always submit a watercolor as a "rough," and after it was approved, do the finish in oil. Mr. Holland liked the watercolors, and to this day he keeps on his study wall a Hunt watercolor of birds in flight and a black-and-white drawing of one of Mr. Holland's favorite pointers that Mr. Hunt did while sitting on a stool in the Holland kennel yard. The two men were the best of friends, and hunting companions. Mr. Hunt's career followed the same pattern as that of nearly every other free-lance artist: some twenty years of work while skills develop and recognition comes slowly but surely, with the time of finest accomplishment beginning when he is in his forties. Somehow Mr. Hunt found time to keep up his hobbies. He hunted and fished along the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to Cuba, and often went out with fishermen, taking along his palette and brushes to capture the vivid colors of fish before they faded. In the 1930's he occasionally served as judge in the International Tuna Angling Matches that were held off Nova Scotia, and also designed two of the trophies that were awarded in those contests. His own travels provided rich material for his art, and he had many friends who were active in the world of big-game hunting, fishing, and exploring. They would frequently bring him photographs and trophies of their expeditions, adding to his store of research matter. Mr. Hunt freely acknowledged his debt to The American Museum of Natural History which allowed him the use of its resources. In 1936 Mr. Hunt produced a book of bird paintings and drawings entitled An Artist's Game Bag. He illustrated two books written by Ray Holland; A Book on Duck Shooting by Van Campen Heilner-I American Big Game Fishing published by Derrydale Press; Atlantic Game Fishing by S. Kip Farrington, Jr.; American Neighbors of the Countryside by Joseph Wharton Lippincott; An American Hunter by Archibald Rutledge-, and Fishing in the Pacific: Offshore and On. Besides Field and Stream, magazines that used his work, often on covers, were the Saturday Evening Post, Delineator, Natural History, Collier's, Better Homes and Gardens, Woman's Home Companion, Boy's Life, American, The Garden Magazine, Country Gentleman, Outers' Magazine, and Elks Magazine. He was called "the Audubon of his time." Nineteen National Wildlife Federation stamps were done by Mr. Hunt, and his paintings were sold through famous galleries. He was a member of the Dutch Treat Club and of the Society of Illustrators. He died on October 13, 1960 in Williston Park, Long Island, New York. |
Russell Fink Gallery |