Celebrated Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt dead at 88
Chicago artist Richard Hunt, the first Black sculptor to receive a solo retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, has died at 88.
Hunt was born in the south of Chicago and was only 19 when he attended the funeral of Emmett Till, who was tortured and lynched in 1955. Till had grown up only two blocks away from Hunt’s childhood home.
Hunt later said: “What happened to [him] could have happened to me,” and went on to produce art that championed Civil Rights. The piece he made in Till’s honour, Hero Ascending, will be installed in Till’s home next year.
Throughout his career, Hunt created over 160 commissioned public pieces, which drew praise from Presidents and other high-ranking political figures.
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson joined those celebrating Hunt’s achievements. He said: “A lifelong Chicagoan, his extraordinary career spanning 70 years leaves an indelible impact on our city and our world,” adding that his legacy will “live on for generations to come”.
After graduating from the School of the Art Insitute, Hunt was appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Lydon B Johnson in 1968.
Decades later, in 2022, his commissioned work Book Bird was created for the Obama Presidential Center.
“It will be an inspiration for visitors from around the world and an enduring reminder of a remarkable man,” former President Barack Obama said of the work. “Richard Hunt was an acclaimed sculptor and one of the finest artists ever to come out of Chicago.”
Hunt is survived by his sister, Marian and his daughter, Cecilia.
