George Leslie Hunter (British, 1877-1931) Still life with MelonTHE LEYDEN COLLECTIONGeorge Leslie Hunter (British, 1877-1931)Still life with Melon oil on board39 x 44.2cm (15 3/8 x 17 3/8in).ProvenanceArthur Leyden and thence by descentHunter was in Paris when Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and André Derain (1880-1954) of the Fauves movement (Wild Beasts) were raising colour to new heights between 1905 and 1910. Going further than Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), they emphasised strong colour over mere representation of reality. Hunter was left shocked after a visit to Gertrude Stein's collection of Matisse and Picasso in circa 1908. It not only set him thinking, it took many years of experimenting before he could harness such modern concepts in paint. Hunter had an affinity with Paul Cézanne's theories, explaining in his notebook of circa 1920-1923: "Painting is the registration of one's colour sensations. He replaces light by colour. He never mentions values." (Hunter's Notebook, Private Collection) This chimed well with Hunter. His wide knowledge of literature and philosophy since his Californian days and his empathy with philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) that colour was the sensation in the eye, rather than the actual colour of an object, was beginning to find form in Hunter's painting. This is what differentiates him, even from his fellow Colourists, and makes Hunter the most exciting, misunderstood and unappreciated of the group.Art dealer, Director of Glasgow Art Galleries and Hunter's biographer, T.J. Honeyman credits Hunter, along with fellow Colourist Peploe, as being among the first artists in Britain to understand what Cézanne was attempting to do. (T.J. Honeyman, Three Scottish Colourists: Peploe, Cadell, Hunter, Thomas Nelson, London, 1950, p.43)Above all, in Still Life with Melon Hunter's innate sense of pictorial harmony is as striking as the feeling that he has finally pushed through to translate the colour sensations on canvas that had previously eluded him.Arthur had bravely acquired a very modern painting for its time. It was most likely purchased by Arthur during his Scottish visit in 1924.