The oil painting shows John Hunter seated wearing a three piece suit in a gilded frame with a small plaque with the inscription “John Hunter Esq. Presented by the Officials and Staffs of D.A.C and D.C.A 1943”. The artist T. C. Dugdale was a well-known portrait painter in the interwar period. Exhibited widely in Britain and overseas, the Tate Gallery and many provincial galleries acquiring his work, he was elected to the Royal Academy (RA) in 1943.
John Hunter started his mining career as an engineer in 1918, working up to be manager then managing director. By 1943, John Hunter was the Managing Director of Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries Ltd. Upon nationalisation of the industry in 1947 he became Production Director of N.E. Division of the NCB. A large mining company, D.A.C. owned Yorkshire Main, Markham Main, Hickleton Main, Firbeck Main, Bullcroft and Brodsworth Main collieries.
