September 12, 2025

Good evening. Thank you for being here to celebrate the life, legacy, and what would have been Richard Hunt's 90th birthday. 

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I am honored to be a part of the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit established to steward his legacy. The foundation's vision is to ensure that future generations fully appreciate his life and art by encouraging, inspiring, and supporting the public’s understanding of his work and his place in American and art history. Richard said of the foundation simply that he “hopes that what I have accomplished in my life will transcend my time on earth.” 

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Gatherings like these honor him and his wishes. 

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I wonder what Richard would think of the extraordinary success he has experienced in the past two years–with an exhibition of his early masterworks in New York, a retrospective in London, and a closer look at his ancestry and civil rights in Freedom in Form at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and now here at LUMA in Chicago. And, more is still to come this year–Richard’s first posthumous museum retrospective opens at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami during Miami Art Week this December. 

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Throughout his seven-decade career, Richard intertwined human rights, history, mythology, religion, and music with expressions of growth and progress, often weaving several themes into a single artwork. While his works are held in 125 museums across the globe, many sculptures are just now making their debut–from the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, to Glenstone, to the British Museum, to the Centre Pompidou. His legacy continues to unfold worldwide. 

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Right here in Chicago, permanent installations of Richard’s work are underway at both the Chicago Children’s Museum and the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley House and Museum. And, as Louise Bernard mentioned, Book Bird will be installed at the OPC when it opens.  

Richard’s Civil Rights activism will further be recognized at a new museum in San Antonio near The Alamo, on the site of the Woolworth’s lunch counter that Richard peacefully integrated on March 16th, 1960.  ​

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As Richard’s biographer, I have spent years asking him nearly every question I could think of. While attempting to capture his story, I often wondered if there was a way to capture his spirit. 

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Perhaps some of you are familiar with James Lipton’s program Inside the Actors Studio. Every interview ended with a series of questions–a particular list of questions meant to reveal deep personal truths. This approach seemed tailor-made for Richard, who always provided thoughtful and attentive answers to any question. He was rarely flippant and consistently insightful. So, in his Chicago studio, I sat with him and asked a dozen questions, recording his responses.

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For those who knew him, this may bring back memories. For those who didn’t have the privilege of meeting him, consider this an introduction. I have never published nor shared these questions and answers until today.