On Saturday, December 16, 2023 the famous, prolific Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt passed away at his home. Mr. Hunt was born and raised in Chicago, eventually becoming a prestigious graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Mr. Hunt was the first African American sculptor to have a solo retrospective exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York. He was also the first African American visual artist appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to serve on the governing board of the National Endowment for the Arts.
His works can be found in museums, libraries and college campuses worldwide, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and the Krannert Art Museum on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus to name a few. One of his final placements will be outside a planned Chicago Public Library branch at the Obama Presidential Center on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Locally, though, we are fortunate to have two commissioned Richard Hunt sculptures in Schaumburg Township–one of which is proudly on display at the Schaumburg Township District Library. The Open Book sculpture can be found on the second floor of the Central Library.
Mr. Hunt was commissioned in 2000 and, as part of the process, he came to the library to see the clerestory space of the second floor. After drawing inspiration, he spent over a year designing the statue that is 9-feet tall and 5-feet wide. He used welding torches and other tools to create the bronze statue in his studio.
Hunt said he “derived his idea from the concept of a book open to information and imagination.” Hunt’s work is influenced by Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism, which serve as the driving forces behind much of his art. He is known for his unique melding of western and non-western (particularly African) artistic traditions, and uses these combined styles to reflect American culture.
“Public sculpture responds to the dynamics of a community, or of those in it, who have a use for sculpture,” Hunt says. “It is this aspect of use, of utility, that gives public sculpture its vital and lively place in the public mind.”
On January 14, 2002 the sculpture was officially unveiled at a reception with Richard Hunt in attendance. Notice how shiny the statue was when it was first put in place.
The other Richard Hunt sculpture in Schaumburg Township can be found on the east bank of the Woodfield Lake office campus that is on the north side of Woodfield Road, between Plum Grove and Meacham Roads. It can be reached by walking the trail around the lake or parking at Two Woodfield Lake.
Forty years ago in 1981, the Levy Organization, who developed Woodfield Lake, commissioned three Chicago artists to create major works for the campus’ new sculpture garden. They were Karl Wirsum, Jerry Peart and Richard Hunt.
According to a June 4, 1981 article in the Daily Herald, Hunt’s sculpture is called Bridging and Branching. It is 20 feet long and 10 feet high and is constructed of welded stainless steel. It is still in fine condition today.
The article states that he describes his piece as an “organic abstraction” in the Woodfield setting. He used “semi-reflective qualities of the colorless stainless steel to tone down the sculpture’s size.”
We are fortunate to have two unique Richard Hunt sculptures in Schaumburg Township. Stop in at the Schaumburg Township District Library or take a drive to Woodfield Lake to check out these sculptures. It’s interesting how much the sculptures aptly echo their titles. Magnificent work all around.
Jane Rozek
Local History Librarian
Schaumburg Township District Library
jrozek@stdl.org
History of Schaumburg Township 