The Master's Absence

Oil on Linen, 30 in. x 40 in., Private Collection

I met Christian Huber near the end of his life. He was Jt.-MFH of Radnor Hunt at the time. He cut a very elegant figure in his signature hunt coat from Brandywine. It was the reason I met him. I’d seen a photo of him wearing the coat in “The Chronicle,” and I called to ask if I could photograph him for reference material. I ended up writing and illustrating an article about that first meeting at Radnor. We became good friends. When he passed away, I wanted to do a painting that would express my feelings of loss and sadness. For me, his empty coat was the perfect symbol of his passing. The painting shows one of his beloved dachshunds, Graeber, sitting on his hunt coat in the library among his books and furnishings, waiting for his return.