Lot 344: John Young Hunter Oil Portrait of Roy Howard, Exhibited

John Young Hunter (American, 1874-1955) portrait of Roy Wilson Howard, chairman of Scripps-Howard Newspapers (1883-1964). The subject is depicted in three quarter view in late middle age with receding gray hair and moustache, wearing a grey coat and checked shirt, bow tie and pocket square with red carnation in his lapel. The painting is signed “J. Young Hunter” lower right. Wood molded frame with bronzed surface and carved corner ornaments.  Labels en verso of frame for the Louvre Frame Co., NY, along with exhibition labels for the 1943 Allied Artists of America 30th Annual Exhibition at the New York Historical Society and Lois Shaw Inc. 460 Park Ave. Gallery, New York. Sight: 23 in. H x 19 in W. Frame: 30 in. H x 26 in. W. Biography: Painter John Young Howard was born into an aristocratic family. His father, Colin Hunter, was a marine painter and member of the Royal Academy, whose circle of friends included John Singer Sargent and Lawrence Alma-Tadema. John Hunter studied at Clifton College, the Royal Academy School, and the University of London. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1900-1913. In 1913 he came to the U.S. pursue an interest in the American West. Befriended by Charles Russell and Mabel Dodge Luhan, he spent time in Santa Fe and Taos. where he established a home and studio. He spent part of the year in New York City working on portrait commissions, whose quality was such that it drew comparison to Sargent’s. (Source: John Young-Hunter, “Reviewing the Years.”). Roy Wilson Howard (1883-1964) rose from humble beginnings in Indianapolis, where he once worked as a paperboy, to a reporter for the Indianapolis Star and Scripps-McRae Newspapers, and eventually the president of United Press. He served as a War Correspondent during World War I, accidentally sending a false report of the Armistice of Nov. 11, 1918 four days before it was actually signed. HIs reputation survived, and by 1922 he was leading the E.W. Scripps Company and the Scripps Howard Newspaper. Despite his management role, he continued to work as a journalist, interviewing such dignitaries as Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Joseph Stalin. 

PROVENANCE:

The estate of James Drury, Lombard, Illinois. 

CONDITION:

Possible small area of retouch in tie area. Pinpoint sized hole center right edge of canvas near frame. Some slackness to canvas. Some small spots of wear and loss to frame edges.