Collaborations
Public Art Archive
Richard Hunt Public Commissions
The Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation serves as the steward of Richard Hunt's archives, scholarship and
We coordinate with museums, galleries, and other arts organizations to ensure Richard Hunt's life and art are represented
Archiving and Digitization: Partnering with the Getty Research Institute and the Public Art Archive, the foundation is engaged in a comprehensive effort to inventory, document, and digitize Hunt's extensive body of work, including thousands of studio works and more than 160 public sculptures and personal archives.
Exhibitions and Curation: The foundation collaborates with major art institutions and galleries to organize exhibitions and produce exhibition catalogues and supplemental materials that bring Hunt's work to new national and global audiences.
Awards and Fellowships: In partnership with two Chicago organizations, the foundation established a biennial sculptural award and an annual printmaking fellowship to provide financial support and visibility to emerging or mid-career sculptors and artists.
Educational Outreach: The foundation is the steward the story of Hunt's life and career, shared through our growing collaborations and through platforms such as Bloomberg Connects.
Publications and Documentation: A long-term initiative involves compiling a comprehensive catalogue raisonné of all of Hunt's artworks, a multi-year project.
Quest for Peace (2006)
Quest for Peace (2006)
Public Art Archive
Richard Hunt Public Commissions
The Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation and the Public Art Archive™ are pleased to announce a new partnership developed to inventory, document, and provide free online access to a comprehensive catalog of Richard Hunt’s extensive public art commissions throughout the United States.
Richard Hunt has more public works in the United States than any sculptor. As the most prolific public sculptor in the country, Hunt’s artistic legacy, seen in works installed across parks, universities, and a multitude of public spaces, is paramount to the history of public art in the U.S.
Hunt made the largest contribution to public art in the United States, with more than 160 public sculpture commissions gracing prominent locations in 24 states and Washington, D.C. Hunt was a central figure in Civil Rights-era action and commemorated many African American icons. His body of work explores themes of the African diaspora, African and Western art, mythology, and Hunt’s own ancestry, especially in relation to growth, expansion, freedom, movement, and flight.
Chicago Sculpture Exhibit
Richard Hunt Award
The Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation is excited to partner with the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit (CSE) for the biennial Richard Hunt Award.
CSE established the award in partnership with Hunt in 2021 to help bring new perspectives and added diversity to the large-scale public art world. The Richard Hunt Award offers financial support to emerging or mid-career sculptors for a new artwork sited at a prominent location in the city. The award is part of CSE’s mission to encourage a broader range of artists to design and fabricate large-scale outdoor public sculpture.
The financial provision for the production of the work is $10,000, 80% provided for the planning and/or creation of the artist’s work and 20% dispersed upon installation. The sculpture remains on display for two years, and the CSE makes every effort to provide additional mentoring and assistance as requested.
The 2025 Richard Hunt Award winner is D. Lamar Preston for his sculpture, Gifted to Me, which was made with tools and repurposed Cor-Ten steel that Hunt had gifted Preston during his time working in Hunt's studio.
Aspen Institute
Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative
We are excited for Richard Hunt to join the Aspen Institute's Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative (AEFI) with other leading artists such as Frankenthaler, Haring, Lichtenstein, Mapplethorpe, Pollock-Krasner, Rauschenberg, and Warhol, whose foundations are a rapidly emerging force in cultural philanthropy and art stewardship.
The AEFI aims to strengthen the charitable impact of this emerging field by addressing the significant information gap facing those who create, lead, govern, and advise artist-endowed foundations. It implements this strategy through research, publication, leadership convening, professional development, and events to share knowledge with key audiences.
As a member of the Seminar on Strategy for Artist-Endowed Foundation Leaders, the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation is proud to join the Aspen Institute in supporting the professional standards, guidance, and development of our board and staff who have policy-setting, governance, management, and leadership responsibilities.
Richard Hunt Day
April 24
State of Illinois
First Lady MK Pritzker proclaimed April 24, 2023 "Richard Hunt Day" in the state of Illinois, recognizing Hunt's talent as a distinguished Illinois artist.
"The artists of our state tell the story of generations of struggle, passion, and culture, and I'm thrilled that the Governor's mansion can uplift and recognize those contributions," said Governor JB Pritzker. "Richard Hunt's addition is the most recent in a long tradition of incredible Illinois artists MK and I are proud to honor."
Hunt's Growing Flowing (2019) sculpture is installed in a sitting room in the Illinois Governor's Mansion.
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Mayor Marcus Muhammad of Benton Harbor, Michigan, where Hunt had a satellite studio for years, also marked April 24, 2024 as "Richard Hunt Day." Celebrations in the city have continued annually, including the dedication of a portrait of Richard Hunt by artist Eric Bradford for the Benton Harbor Public Library in 2025.