Collection Guide
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Hunt-Tupper Collection
mssHM 54509-54686
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Hunt-Tupper collection
Creator:
Hunt, William Holman,
1827-1910
Creator:
Tupper, John
Lucas, approximately 1823-1879
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 54509-54686
Physical Description:
3.51 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1850-1931
Abstract: A collection of correspondence chiefly
between Pre-Raphaelite painter William Holman Hunt and fellow artist and friend, John Lucas
Tupper.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Hunt-Tupper collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Sotheby's, lot 751, July 1971.
William Holman Hunt (1827-1910) was an English painter who, with Sir John Everett Millais
(1829-1896), originated the Pre-Raphaelite movement. He married Frances Waugh, but she died
as a result of complications giving birth to their son Cyril Benone Holman Hunt. Hunt later
married Frances's sister, Marion Edith Waugh, and they had two children, Gladys Mulock
Holman Hunt and Hilary Holman Hunt. John Lucas Tupper (approximately 1823-1879) was a
sculptor and poet and an early member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a student at
the Royal Academy in the 1840s, where he met Hunt and other Pre-Raphaelites. He married
Annie Amelia French in 1871 and they had two children, John Holman Tupper and Mary
Tupper.
The collection consists primarily of letters between William Holman Hunt (1827-1910) and
John Lucas Tupper (approximately 1823-1879). The correspondence spans the entire life of
their acquaintance, beginning in 1848 and ending with Tupper's death in 1879. Subject matter
covers a wide range of topics, including descriptions of Hunt's journeys to Palestine, his
quarrels with Thomas Woolner, his response to the death of Thomas Combe, his everyday
ordeals as a painter, his struggles to create various paintings, his and Tupper's views on
Pre-Raphaelite principles, and their differing opinions on politics and other topics. The
collection also includes one autograph poem by William Holman Hunt, and seven letters Hunt
wrote to Annie Amelia French Tupper. Additional correspondents in the collection are: Marion
Edith Waugh Hunt (10 letters to Annie Amelia French Tupper); Gladys Mulock Holman Hunt (one
letter to Mary Tupper); and George Tupper (one letter to William Holman Hunt). There are a
few pieces of ephemera related to William Holman Hunt including a catalog of an exhibition
of his works at Leicester Galleries, London, 1906.
Processed by Huntington Library staff in 1992. In 2020, Suzanne Oatey created a finding aid
derived from a legacy summary report.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent, with ephemera stored at the end of the
collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Artists -- Great Britain -- 19th century -- Correspondence.
Pre-Raphaelites -- Great Britain -- Correspondence.
Pre-Raphaelitism -- England
Exhibition catalogs -- Great Britain -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 20th century
Poetry -- Great Britain -- 19th century
Hunt, Edith Holman, 1846-1931
Hunt, William Holman, 1827-1910
Tupper, Annie
Tupper, John Lucas,
approximately 1823-1879