Renowned Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt passes at 88

The renowned sculptor Richard Hunt who became one of the nation's preeminent sculptors over his several decades' long career, died Saturday, December 16 at 88 years old.

According to the obituary on the Richard Hunt website, Hunt died peacefully at his home in Chicago. As a sculptor, Hunt made the largest contribution to public art in the U.S., with more than 160 public sculpture commissions in 24 states and Washington, D.C.

Among the listing of his sculptures is one named The Centennial at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. The Centennial was commissioned by Mr. Hobart Taylor, Jr., graduate of Prairie View and dedicated to his father, Hobart Taylor, Sr., also and alumnus of the universty. Mr. Hunt personally supervised the installation of the sculpture in March 1978 which sits in the front of the Hobart Taylor Sr. Hall which houses the College of Business, the Departments of Music and Drama and the famed Charles Gilpin Players. It was a great day for the sculptor and Prairie View A&M University. President Alvin I. Thomas in accepting the sculpture lamented, “We are excited and delighted to have one of Richard Hunt’s most creative and elegant pieces at Prairie View A&M University.” Incidentall, the sculpture is the only major work of Mr. Hunt in Texas. Thomas continued that "The Centennial shall serve as an inspiration to be enjoyed all persons who come to see it.”

While most people passing Hobart Taylor Hall will look at the Big Brown piece of rusted metal, as they call it, Richard Hunt's abstract sculpture rises over 18 feet high and is on a truncated circular base which is 8 feet in diameter. Made of Corten Steel, the sculpture weighs over 4,400 pounds. The rust-like patina of Corten Steel is a controlled process which, due to the alloy, reaches a certain point of patina and then stops, thus becoming a stable surface. After forty-five years, the finished patina is complete and rooted into the fabric of the art world. It has reached its brown color: the desired color the artist imagined as he combined science and art to express his creative genius.

Recognizing the importance of the sculpture, Dr. Alvin I. Thomas, president of the university, used an engraved image of the sculpture on the cover for the Building Dedication program, commemorating the centennial celebration in September 1978.

NBC Chicago reports that at 19 years old, Hunt attended the open-casket funeral of Emmett Till, who had grown up only four blocks from the Woodlawn home where Hunt was born. Shaken by Till's death, he went on to champion the civil rights movement and create sculptures that, according to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, "undeniably bridge the gap between abstract art and the black experience in America."

So when you visit Prairie View A&M University, stop by and pay honors to one of the most famous Black sculptors in America - Richard Hunt.