Richard Morris Hunt (1827–1895) was a noted American architect who helped define the opulent architectural style of the Gilded Age, but was largely forgotten and neglected by twentieth-century academics. Now his work is being revisited, as demonstrated by the new exhibition entitled “Richard Morris Hunt: In a New Light,” on view at the Rosecliff galleries of the Preservation Society of Newport County (PSNC). This exhibition illuminates his life and his work beyond just his famous mansions with hand sketches, plans, portraits, sculptures, and other items from his estate and career.
Entry to Richard Morris Hunt: In a New Light Exhibition
Born in Vermont in 1827, Hunt’s early life took a pivotal turn when his family moved to Europe following the premature passing of his father in 1832. This decision would shape the course of American architecture. At 18, he became the first American to be admitted to the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the world’s leading school for fine arts at that time. His decade-long immersion in French architectural traditions gave him an unparalleled educational foundation. He learned the principles of rational design, balance, and grandeur, and even worked on the Louvre under one of his teachers. This education, steeped in the Beaux-Arts style, would become his signature upon returning to the United States. He wasn’t just bringing back a style; he was bringing back a professional philosophy, advocating for architecture as an art form rather than a mere construction trade.
Hunts early portrait and philosophy
Upon his return to the U.S. in 1855, Hunt’s career didn’t immediately soar. He briefly worked on the U.S. Capitol extension before establishing his own practice in New York. At his Tenth Street Studio, he founded the first architectural training program in America, helping create a new generation of American architects and educators. In 1857, he also co-founded the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and eventually served as its third president. He designed numerous cottages and buildings, primarily in what later came to be coined by Yale scholar Vincent Scully as “The Stick Style.”
Exhibit of Hunts early life in Vermont
In the 1880’s with the rise of great American fortunes during the Gilded Age, Hunt’s knowledge and deftness with European palace architecture became valuable to the wealthy of that era. It was his work for the Vanderbilt family, however, that truly cemented his legacy. With commissions like the grand Fifth Avenue mansion “Petit Château” in New York and, most famously, Marble House and The Breakers in Newport, Hunt became the go-to architect for the Gilded Age elite. His designs gave these industrialists the glamorous palatial homes they craved, while also elevating American architecture to a new level of sophistication and professionalism. Hunt caught pneumonia racing from one extraordinary project to another in 1895 and passed away in Newport, Rhode Island, at the very apex of his career. It was a sign of his stature that the entire American architectural establishment traveled to Newport for his funeral and burial.
Exhibit of Hunts monumental projects
However, with the passing of the extraordinary wealth of the Gilded Age, so passed Hunt’s high reputation. For much of the 20th century, Hunt (and the Beaux-Arts style he championed) fell out of favor. Modernist scholars frequently dismissed him, deriding Hunt’s work as derivative and ostentatious–a symbol of the Gilded Age’s excesses rather than any architectural genius. The magnificent mansions he designed for the Vanderbilt family were seen more as symptoms of a malevolent era than icons worthy of emulation.
Exhibit of works that Hunt influenced or was influenced by
Still, in recent years, his reputation has been a significant renaissance in academic circles. Scholars are now re-evaluating Hunt’s profound influence on American architecture and culture. The new PSNC exhibit seeks to present Hunt in a new light, not just as a designer of opulent homes, but as a key figure who sought to cultivate a sense of national pride in art and architecture.
Exhibit of some of Hunts most prominent patrons
This semester, Ross Cann, principal at A4 Architecture, is also teaching a parallel course with the same title as the exhibition within the Circle of Scholars program at Slave Regina University. It follows the development, rise, and waning of Hunt’s skill and reputation, but it also shines a light on the buildings that Hunt designed as “Skyscrapers in disguise.” The course examines and demonstrates how Richard Morris Hunt was actually laying the foundation for the American Century in Architecture.
Exhibit of Hunts Memorial in New York City
Ross Sinclair Cann, AIA, LEED AP, is a historian, educator, author, and founder of A4 Architecture in Newport. He holds degrees in Architecture and Architectural History with honors from Yale, Cambridge, and Columbia Universities. He teaches Architectural History in the Circle of Scholars program at Salve Regina and other universities. He is the Founding Chairman of the Newport Architectural Forum. He has worked on and admired in detail many of Richard Morris Hunt’s buildings over his career.