Richard Morris Hunt

Art Historical Context

This striking plaster bust, titled *Richard Morris Hunt* and created by Karl Theodore Francis Bitter in 1891, captures the likeness of one of America's foremost architects during the Gilded Age. Standing at 63.5 cm (25 inches) high, the sculpture resides in the Art Institute of's Department of Arts of the Americas, exemplifying late 19th-century portraiture that bridged European academic traditions with emerging American identity. Richard Morris Hunt, the subject, was a trailblazing figure who introduced Beaux-Arts architecture to the United States, designing iconic structures like the Metrop...