The Gilded Life of Richard Morris Hunt: Architecture and Art for an American Civilization

A leading American architect throughout his career in the 19th century, Richard Morris Hunt.(1827–95) is best remembered today for his work on New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as private homes including opulent “cottages” in Newport. As one of the founders of the American Institute of Architects, Hunt helped to change the perception of architects from tradesman to professional. His reference library and designs were donated to the Library of Congress in 2010 and serve as the foundation for this volume. Historian Watters, continuing his association with the LOC research collections (Gardens for a Beautiful America 1895–1935: Photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson), skillfully brings the collection to life through his telling of Hunt’s long career and wide-ranging milieu while revealing new discoveries and connections in the collection. Especially helpful is a prefatory section, “The Players,” four pages of brief individual biographical items about Hunt’s family, clients, colleagues, and friends. The abundant high-quality illustrations (200 in color) both illustrate and contextualize Hunt’s work and differentiate this volume from Paul R. Baker’s comprehensive 1982 biography Richard Morris Hunt. The newly commissioned photographs by Michael Froio are especially noteworthy.