Richard Hunt (sculptor)

For the Canadian First Nations artist, see Richard Hunt (artist).

Richard Hunt
Richard Hunt Sculptor
Hunt in 1962
Born
Richard Howard Hunt

(1935-09-12)September 12, 1935
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedDecember 16, 2023(2023-12-16) (aged 88)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationEnglewood High School
Alma materSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago
OccupationSculptor
Years active1953–2023
Known forSculpture, drawing, printmaking
Notable work
  • Hero's Head (1956)
  • Arachne (1956)
  • Steel Bloom, Number 10 (1956)
  • Hero Construction (1958)
  • The Chase (1965)
  • Harlem Hybrid (1976)
  • I Have Been to the Mountain (1977)
  • Jacob's Ladder (1978)
  • From the Sea (1983)
  • Slowly toward the North (1984)
  • From the ground Up (1989)
  • Freeform (1993)
  • Flintlock Fantasy or the Promise of Force (1991–1996)
  • Flight Forms (2001)
  • We Will (2005)
  • Swing Low (2016)
  • Scholar's Rock or Stone of Hope or Love of Bronze (2014–2020)
Spouses
  • Bettye Scott
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1957, divorced)​
    [1]
  • Lenora Cartright
    ​
    (died 1989)​
  • Anuschka Menist
    ​
    (divorced)​
Websiterichardhuntsculptor.com

Richard Howard Hunt (September 12, 1935 – December 16, 2023) was an American sculptor.[2] In the second half of the 20th century, he became "the foremost African-American abstract sculptor and artist of public sculpture."[3] Hunt, the descendant of enslaved people brought from West Africa through the Port of Savannah, studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1950s. While there he received multiple prizes for his work. In 1971, he was the first African-American sculptor to have a retrospective at Museum of Modern Art. Hunt has created over 160 public sculpture commissions, more than any other sculptor[4] in prominent locations in 24 states across the United States.

With a career spanning seven decades, Hunt held over 150 solo exhibitions and is represented in more than 100 public museums across the world. His notable abstract, modern and contemporary sculpture work appeared in exhibitions and public displays as early as the 1950s. He was one of the first artists to serve on the governing body for National Endowment for the Arts and later served on the board of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In 2022, Barack Obama stated that "Richard Hunt is one of the greatest artists Chicago has ever produced."[5][6]

Arachne, 1956, Museum of Modern Art
Steel Bloom, Number 10, 1956 (shown here on poster at the Chicago Cultural Center, 2015)
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Brooks, LeRonn P.; Carter, Jordan; Childs, Adrienne L.; Yau, John; Ott, Jon (2022). Richard Hunt. Gregory R. Miller & Company. ISBN 978-1-941366-44-8. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Richard Hunt | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  4. ^ "Richard Hunt". www.arts.gov. October 22, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Obama Foundation (February 28, 2022). "Richard Hunt to create installation at the Obama Presidential Center" – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Griffey, Randall (December 21, 2023). "Remembering Influential Sculptor Richard Hunt". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved December 26, 2023.