25 Unseen Richard Hunt Lithographs Are Being Unveiled Just In Time For Black History Month – Essence

The Amon Carter Museum is displaying twenty-five unseen lithographs from sculptor Richard Hunt this month in an exhibition titled Richard Hunt: From Paper to Metal. 

These rare 2D images will offer unique insights into Hunt’s approach to the sculptural process. They were pulled from the museum’s extensive Tamarind Lithography Workshop Collection. Select elements from the artist’s later 3D masterpieces can be seen in the 1965 lithographs, including his strong connection to nature and organic materials. Hunt, who passed away in 2023 at 88, was a cherished fixture in the Black arts community. His work explored complex themes, including liberation, aviation, and expansion. These were used to make profound and inspiring statements about social justice. 

Hunt did not just work with abstract ideas about freedom; he observed and celebrated the brave icons pursuing it for seven decades. The Chicago-born sculptor considered his art a means of amplifying the thoughts and feelings of Black people across the nation. “Sculpture is not a self-declaration but a voice of and for my people—over all, a rich fabric; under all, the dynamism of the African American people,” said Hunt about his artistic practice.  

Hunt’s lithographs will be shown alongside Natural Form, a 1968 sculpture made from welded steel. It was acquired from the private collection of Terry Dintenfass by the museum. The piece has not been on public display for more than fifty years. Dintenfass was a progressive gallerist at a time when it was extremely risky to support diverse artistic voices. She was an avid supporter of Hunt’s work. 

“The exhibition provides space to reflect on the work of one of America’s most important sculptors, who is virtually unmatched in the canon of twentieth and twenty-first-century American sculpture, and, through our acquisition of Natural Form, we are able to play a part in preserving and amplifying the artist’s legacy,” Andrew J. Walker, Executive Director of the Amon Carter Museum, said in a statement. “By bringing Hunt’s lesser-known lithographs into dialogue with the sculpture, we are able to engage our collection in new ways and introduce new audiences to Hunt’s multifaceted practice.”

Commonly referred to as “the Carter,” the Amon Carter Museum is located in the city of Fort Worth, Texas, an area with a dynamic Black community. The greater Fort Worth area has been home to many Black artists. It’s also home to Black organizations, including Black Arts DFW and Black Girls In Art Spaces. 

Hunt was a true trailblazer. He became the first Black sculptor to have their work receive a solo retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1971. This accomplishment was achieved over twenty years prior to the founding of MoMA’s Black Arts Council. 

The late sculptor did not only spend a lifetime committed to commemorating the fight for civil rights, he was fully entrenched in the fight, and infused his life experiences into his work. He had a front row seat to some of the most impactful moments in the civil rights movement including the brazen decision to hold an open-casket funeral following the hate-driven and senseless murder of Emmet Till. At 19 years old, he witnessed the bravery and fortitude of Mamie Till-Mobley firsthand.

Public commissions by Hunt have become treasured landmarks in many communities. His 2021 tribute to Ida B. Wells, The Light of Truth, lives in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chigaco. It inspired a 2024 documentary of the same name. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture displays his 2016 sculpture Swing Low. Hobart Taylor, a former Howard University trustee, donated Hunt’s Symbiosis to the HBCU.

The exhibition is a creative time capsule that allows visitors to see inklings of where Hunt’s storied legacy began. The Amon Carter Museum is hosting an interactive workshop for students ages 5-17 in connection with the exhibition. It will help educate them about Hunt’s storied career and the techniques he used to make history. 

“This is an especially important moment to examine Richard Hunt’s contributions to American creativity more than fifty years after he produced the works presented in the show,” Shirley Reece-Hughes, Curator of Paintings, Sculpture, and Works on Paper at the Amon Carter Museum, stated. 

“Experiencing this rare example of Hunt’s mid-century sculpture in dialogue with the Tamarind prints, visitors will learn how the artist drew from sources ranging from industry, nature, geology, zoology, and surrealism in both his two- and three-dimensional art, providing an opportunity to explore Hunt’s interest in themes of transformation, evergreen in the story of American art.”

Richard Hunt: From Paper to Metal is now on display at The Amon Carter Museum of American Art through March 2.