The Reading Lesson

Oil on artist board, signed lower right corner.

Painting size: 7” x 9.5”
Frame size: 12” x 14.5”

In this charming genre scene, a young woman teaches a little girl how to read. The simple wooden bench beside the fireplace and the general roughhewn appearance of the room indicates that this is a rural household. Nonetheless, education is highly valued: the woman holds a colorful book on her lap and gently points to a picture. With hands clasped behind her back, the young student attentively follows her teacher’s directive. A rag doll temporarily abandoned on the stone floor shows that the day will come when the little girl will put away childish things altogether.

The artist, Percy W. Hunt, lived and worked in Wanstead, Essex and later in Bishops Stortford, Hertsforshire. He exhibited regularly at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.