John Kelso Hunter
Born in Dankeith, Ayrshire, 1802, John Kelso Hunter moved
as a young man to the village of Dundonald where he became an
apprentice cobbler and in his spare time taught himself painting.
He later moved to Kilmarnock as a shoemaker and further developed
his painting skills becoming a renowned artist specialising in
portraits. In 1847 he exhibited at the Royal Academy in London
before becoming a regular exhibitor at the Royal Scottish Academy
for the next 25 years. He also published 2 books: 'Retrospective of
an Artist's Life' (1868), his autobiography, and 'Life Studies of
Character', a few years later. He died in 1873 and is buried in the
Southern Necropolis in Glasgow.
John Kelso Hunter's autobiography Retrospective of an Artist's Life is available online at http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/SESLL/STELLA/STARN/prose/scotnov.htm .
