RICHARD HUNT

ADD to Exhibition(s) of interest

Richard Howard Hunt was born in 1935 in Chicago, IL.  He began formally studying sculpture at The Junior School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and later at The University of Illinois at Chicago. Though his primary focus was welding, he also studied lithography while attending school. After college, Hunt traveled abroad to Europe on a fellowship.  He was the youngest artist to exhibit at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, a major international survey exhibition of modern art. 

As commissions have been bestowed upon him, the scale of his sculpture has grown. He has produced more than fifty-five public-site sculptures, including Candelabra for St. Matthew's Methodist Church. Chicago is home to thirty-five sculptures that exist in his home state of Illinois. In addition to sculpture, Hunt has become interested in color lithographs. Hunt has completed more public sculptures than any other artist in the country.

In 1971, Richard Hunt became the first black American accorded a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.  He was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson as one of the first artists to serve on the governing board of the National Endowment for the Arts and he also served on boards of the Smithsonian Institution.  The recipient of numerous awards and eight honorary degrees, his work is represented in major museums and collections.  He has received Guggenheim, Ford, and Tamarind fellowships, awards from the Art Institute of Chicago, and Logan, Palmer, and Compana prizes.