American sculptor (1876?1973)
Anna Vaughn Huntington
(
nee
Hyatt; March 10, 1876 ? October 4, 1973) was an American
sculptor
who was among
New York City
's most prominent sculptors in the early 20th century. At a time when very few women were successful artists, she had a thriving career. Hyatt Huntington exhibited often, traveled widely, received critical acclaim at home and abroad, and won multiple awards and commissions.
During the first two decades of the 20th century, Hyatt Huntington became famous for her animal sculptures, which combine vivid emotional depth with skillful realism. In 1915, she created the first public monument by a woman to be erected in
New York City
. Her
Joan of Arc
, located on
Riverside Drive
at 93rd Street, is the city's first monument dedicated to a historical woman.
[2]
Biography
[
edit
]
Anna Vaughn Hyatt was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
, on March 10, 1876. She was the daughter of Audella Beebe and
Alpheus Hyatt
, a professor of
paleontology
and
zoology
at
Harvard University
and
MIT
. Her father encouraged her early interest in animals and animal anatomy. Anna Hyatt first studied with
Henry Hudson Kitson
in
Boston
, who threw her out after she identified
equine
anatomical deficiencies in his work (Rubenstein 1990).
[
full citation needed
]
Later, she studied with
Hermon Atkins MacNeil
and
Gutzon Borglum
at the
Art Students League of New York
. In addition to these formal studies, she spent many hours making extensive study of animals in various zoos (including the
Bronx Zoo
)
[3]
and
circuses
.
Her work was entered in the
sculpture event
in the
art competition
at the
1928 Summer Olympics
.
[4]
In 1932, Huntington became one of the earliest woman artists to be elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
.
She was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the
3rd Sculpture International
held in the summer of 1949 at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art
.
[
citation needed
]
In 1927, Huntington contracted
tuberculosis
. She struggled with it for a decade but survived the illness.
[
citation needed
]
Huntington married
Archer Milton Huntington
on March 10, 1923. They founded
Brookgreen Gardens
near
Georgetown
,
South Carolina
, incorporating
Brookgreen Plantation
, which was started in the late 18th century and was a major antebellum plantation. This property was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
in 1978 and designated as a
National Historic Landmark District
in 1992.
[
citation needed
]
Hyatt Huntington was a member of the
National Academy of Design
and the
National Sculpture Society
(NSS). She and her husband donated $100,000 to underwrite the NSS Exhibition of 1929. Because of her husband's enormous wealth and the shared interests of the couple, the Huntingtons founded fourteen museums and four wildlife preserves.
[
citation needed
]
They also donated the land for the
Collis P. Huntington State Park
to the State of Connecticut. It consists of approximately 800 acres (3.2 km
2
) of land in
Redding, Connecticut
, the town where they lived.
[
citation needed
]
Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington died October 4, 1973, in
Redding, Connecticut
. She is buried in
Woodlawn Cemetery
,
The Bronx
,
New York City
.
[6]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Anna Hyatt Huntington's papers are held at
Syracuse University
,
[7]
and the
Archives of American Art
of the Smithsonian Institution.
[8]
The
Metropolitan Museum of Art
ranks Huntington as among the foremost woman sculptors in the United States to have undertaken large, publicly commissioned works, alongside
Malvina Hoffman
and
Evelyn Beatrice Longman
.
[9]
She was the maternal aunt of the art historian
A. Hyatt Mayor
.
[10]
Public equestrian monuments
[
edit
]
Anna Hyatt Huntington's animal
sculptures
, figures both life-sized and in smaller proportions, are held in museums and collections throughout the United States. Her work is displayed in many of New York's leading institutions and outdoor spaces, including
Columbia University
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Academy of Design, the
New-York Historical Society
, the
Hispanic Society of America
, the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
,
Central Park
,
Riverside Park
and the Bronx Zoo.
[2]
She spent two years collaborating with
Abastenia St. Leger Eberle
to produce
Man and Bull
, which was exhibited at the
St. Louis Exposition
in 1904.
The
Hispanic Society of America
was founded in 1904 by her husband, Archie Huntington. Hyatt Huntington created the sculptures and fittings in its courtyard,
[11]
including:
She created two statues that are located at the entrance to
Collis P. Huntington State Park
in
Redding
and
Bethel, Connecticut
:
Mother Bear and Cubs
and
Sculpture of Wolves
. The park was donated to the state of Connecticut by the Huntingtons. Other equestrian statues by Huntington greet visitors to the entrance to Redding Elementary School, the John Read Middle School, and at the Mark Twain Library. The statue at the elementary school is called
Fighting Stallions
and the one at the middle school is called
A Tribute to the Workhorse
. The sculpture at the Mark Twain Library, also called
The Torch Bearers
, is identical in form to the one in Madrid, but is cast in bronze and appears to be smaller.
[
citation needed
]
In her
Horse Trainer
(Balboa Park, San Diego) she enlivens the theme of the Roman marble
Horse Tamers
of the Quirinale, Rome, which had been taken up by
Guillaume Coustou
for the horses of
Marly
.
[
citation needed
]
Huntington's
Joan of Arc
stands at the intersection of
Riverside Drive
and
Ninety-third Street
in
Manhattan
. It commemorated the 500th anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc and honored France, which was at war. Its unveiling catapulted Huntington into the international spotlight.
Mina Edison
,
Thomas Edison
's second wife, participated.
Replicas of the statue are found:
Andrew Jackson, A Boy of The Waxhaws
,
Andrew Jackson State Park
,
Lancaster, South Carolina
, depicts a young Andy Jackson, sitting astride a farm horse. It is a bronze, larger-than-life statue. Usually her horses were noble, prancing, fierce beasts. She made Jackson's horse a gentler animal by fixing the energy and tension of the work on the figure of young Jackson. The sculpture was initiated by a letter from a sixth-grade class at Rice Elementary School in
Lancaster, South Carolina
, asking Mrs. Huntington if she would sculpt a statue of young Andrew Jackson for the state park. Mrs. Huntington submitted to do so, and replied, in part, "A picture came to mind as I read your letter and I have tried out the composition. I have Jackson as a young man of sixteen or seventeen seated bareback on a farm horse, one hand leaning on the horse's rump and looking over his native hills, to wonder what the future holds for him. He must have been a good looking and thoughtful boy, wondering what the future might hold, moments we all have from our teens to our nineties." The statue was completed at her
Bethel, Connecticut
studio, and was first worked in clay in half the scale of the final statue. Even then, it was necessary for the octogenarian sculptor to use a tall ladder to reach the top. South Carolina school children responded by donating their nickels and dimes to raise the necessary funds for a massive base to support the statue, which looks out over the large expanse of lawn at the park. County workmen placed the statue on its
Lancaster County
pink granite base in time for the ceremony marking Andrew Jackson's 200th birthday, in March 1967. This was Huntington's last major work, completed after her ninety-first birthday. The statue is located at
Andrew Jackson State Park
, about nine miles (14 km) north of
Lancaster, South Carolina
, just off US 521.
General Israel Putnam
,
Putnam Memorial Park
,
Redding, Connecticut
, commemorates General Putnam's escape from the British in 1779, when he rode down a cliff at Horseneck Heights in
Greenwich, Connecticut
. The statue is located at the intersection of Routes 58 and 107 at the entrance to Putnam Park.
[17]
Los Portadores de la Antorcha
("The Torch Bearers"), cast aluminum,
Ciudad Universitaria
Dental School,
Madrid
, was given to the people of Spain to symbolize the passing of the torch of Western civilization from age to youth; it was unveiled 15 May 1955.
[18]
At the time of its construction it was the largest statue in the world at 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg).
[19]
Replicas of the statue are on the grounds of:
- The
Discovery Museum
, Park Avenue in
Bridgeport, Connecticut
, one mile (1.6 km) south of
Merritt Parkway
Exit 47
Lindale Park, Houston;
[20]
cast bronze.
- The Mark Twain Library in
Redding, Connecticut
, cast bronze.
- The
University of South Carolina
's Wardlaw College at
33°59′48″N
81°01′50″W
/
33.99679°N 81.03052°W
/
33.99679; -81.03052
; cast bronze.
[21]
- Stevens Institute of Technology
,
Hoboken, New Jersey
at
40°44′40.6″N
74°01′29.2″W
/
40.744611°N 74.024778°W
/
40.744611; -74.024778
; cast aluminum, April 1964.
- The
Chrysler Museum of Art
,
Norfolk, Virginia
at
36°51′21.8″N
76°17′37.0″W
/
36.856056°N 76.293611°W
/
36.856056; -76.293611
; cast aluminum, 1957.
- Valencia
(Spain), close to the University of Valencia (donated in 1964).
Statue of
Sybil Ludington
to commemorate the 1777 ride of this 16-year-old who is said to have ridden forty miles at night to warn local militia of approaching British troops in response to the burning of
Danbury, Connecticut
.
[22]
These accounts, originating from the
Ludington family
, are questioned by modern scholars.
[23]
[22]
[24]
The statue is located on Rt. 52 next to Glenedia Lake in
Carmel, New York
(1961). Smaller versions of the statue exist on the grounds of the DAR Headquarters in Washington, DC;
[23]
on the grounds of the public library, Danbury, Connecticut; and in the Elliot and Rosemary Offner museum at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.
A peaceful statue of
Abraham Lincoln
reading a book, while sitting on a grazing horse is located in front of the Bethel Public Library, Rt. 302 in Bethel, Connecticut. The statue bears the signature, Anna Huntington, with the date of 1961.
[25]
- The same statue of Abraham Lincoln on horseback is found near the entrance of Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, Route 97, Petersburg, Illinois]].
[
citation needed
]
In 1964, the sculptor, Anna Hyatt Huntington, gave this bronze statue to the state of Illinois. Depicting a young Lincoln absorbed in studying, it shows a typical scene of Lincoln's life when he lived in this pioneer village between 1831 and 1837.
Lincoln's New Salem
.
Conquering the Wild
overlooks the Lions Bridge and Lake Maury at The Mariners' Museum Park in
Newport News, Virginia
.
[
citation needed
]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
-
The Holy Family Resting - The Flight Into Egypt
, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
-
-
Fighting Stallions
, 1950, aluminum, entrance to
Brookgreen Gardens
,
Murrells Inlet
, South Carolina
-
Los Portadores de la Antorcha
("The Torch-bearers"), cast aluminum, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid
[26]
-
Los Portadores de la Antorcha
("The Torch-bearers"), cast bronze,
Discovery Museum and Planetarium
, Bridgeport, Connecticut
-
Los Portadores de la Antorcha
("The Torch-bearers"), cast bronze,
Habana
,
Cuba
-
Mother Bear and Cubs,
at
Earthplace
, Westport, Connecticut
-
Mother Bear and Cubs,
Huntington State Park, Redding, Connecticut
-
Don Quixote
, aluminum 1947, Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
-
Sybil Ludington
, 1961, Carmel, New York
-
Smaller Sybil Ludington statue close-up, Offner museum, Brookgreen Gardens
-
Sculpture of Wolves
, Huntington State Park, Redding, Connecticut
-
Young Abe Lincoln on Horseback
, bronze 1966, on the campus of the
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
, Syracuse, New York
-
El Cid Campeador
, bronze 1923, the central sculpture at the entrance to the
Hispanic Society of America
, New York City
-
Cid Campeador
, a monument to
El Cid
in Seville
-
Youth Conquering the Wild
at The
Mariners Museum
in Newport News, Virginia
-
One of the
Reaching Jaguar
sculptures at The
Mariners Museum
in Newport News, Virginia
-
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Anna Hyatt Huntington Papers"
. Syracuse University. Archived from
the original
on March 26, 2017
. Retrieved
December 29,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
From a statement by The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery of Columbia University, dated February 12, 2014.
- ^
Foner, Daria Rose (February 13, 2014).
"Anna Hyatt Huntington's Jaguars"
.
Wild Things: The Blog of the Wildlife Conservation Society Archives
. Wildlife Conservation Society
. Retrieved
February 13,
2014
.
- ^
"Anna Hyatt Huntington"
.
Olympedia
. Retrieved
July 29,
2020
.
- ^
"Charleston Currents. Anna Hyatt Huntington"
.
charlestoncurrents.com
. Retrieved
May 31,
2023
.
- ^
"Anna Hyatt Huntington Papers An inventory of her papers at Syracuse University"
. Library.syr.edu. Archived from
the original
on March 26, 2017
. Retrieved
January 14,
2013
.
- ^
Archives of American Art.
"Summary of the Anna Hyatt-Huntington papers, 1902?1967 | Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution"
. Aaa.si.edu
. Retrieved
January 14,
2013
.
- ^
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: American Women Sculptors"
, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
- ^
Smith, J. Y. (March 2, 1980).
"A. H. Mayor, N.Y. Print Curator, Dies"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
July 9,
2022
.
- ^
Dare, Kitty.
"The Hispanic Society Sculptural Program"
. Media Center for Art History at Columbia University
. Retrieved
April 21,
2013
.
- ^
"Conserving Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington's "Joan of Arc" at the Legion of Honor"
.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
.
- ^
"Joan of Arc Garden"
.
The National Battlefields Commission
.
- ^
"When Joan of Arc was not living in the Bishop's garden"
.
La Nouvelle Republic newspaper
.
- ^
Reluga, Elizabeth (May 28, 2021).
"Anna Hyatt Huntington: World War I Memorial to the Sons of Gloucester"
.
Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum
. Retrieved
November 23,
2022
.
- ^
Illustration.
Archived
2006-11-06 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
JHD Content
- ^
"The Talk of the Town: Package"
.
The New Yorker
. May 6, 1955
. Retrieved
January 14,
2013
.
- ^
Burgeson, John (December 30, 2013).
"
'Torch Bearers' headed to Houston"
.
Connecticut Post
.
- ^
"Visit the SC Williams Library at Stevens Institute of Technology"
. Stevens.edu. Archived from
the original
on January 19, 2013
. Retrieved
January 14,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Tucker, Abigail (March 2022).
"Did the Midnight Ride of Sibyl Ludington Ever Happen?"
.
Smithsonian
. Retrieved
July 6,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Hunt, Paula D. (June 2015).
"Sybil Ludington, the Female Paul Revere: The Making of a Revolutionary War Heroine"
.
The New England Quarterly
.
88
(2): 187?222.
doi
:
10.1162/TNEQ_a_00452
.
ISSN
0028-4866
.
S2CID
57569643
.
- ^
Eschner, Sybil (April 26, 2017).
"Was There Really a Teenage, Female Paul Revere?"
.
Smithsonian
. Retrieved
July 6,
2022
.
- ^
Note: this may be a scale model of the oversize statue of the same subject at the
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
, in
Syracuse, New York
, pictured elsewhere in this article.
- ^
Christen, Arden G., and Joan A. Christen. 2007. "An Ethical Lesson Learned from the Equestrian Sculpture, "The Torch Bearers," at the University of Madrid Dental School,"
Journal of the History of Dentistry
55(3): 160-164. Accessed: March 8, 2013.
References
[
edit
]
- Armstrong, Craven, et al.,
200 Years of American Sculpture
,
Whitney Museum of Art
, New York, 1976.
- Craven, Wayne,
Sculpture in America
, Thomas Y. Crowell Co, New York, 1968.
- Evans, Cerinda W.,
Anna Hyatt Huntington
, The Mariners Museum, Newport News, Virginia, 1965.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
; Dimmick, Lauretta; Hassler, Donna J. (1999). John P. O'Neill (ed.).
American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A catalogue of works by artists born between 1865 and 1885
.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
.
ISBN
9780870999239
.
- Total pages: 788
- National Sculpture Society,
Contemporary American Sculpture 1929
, National Sculpture Society, New York, 1929.
- Opitz, Glenn B, Editor,
Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers
, Apollo Book, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1986.
- Proske, Beatrice Gilman,
Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture
, Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina, 1968.
- Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer,
American Women Sculptors
, G.K. Hall & Co., Boston, 1990.
- Salmon, Robin R. (2009).
Sculpture of Brookgreen Gardens
.
Arcadia Publishing
.
ISBN
9780738566566
.
- Total pages: 128
- Leary, Joseph,
A Shared Landscape: A Guide & History of Connecticut's State Parks & Forests
, Friends of Connecticut State Parks Inc., Hartford, CT, 2004.
==External links==
- Anna Hyatt Huntington Papers
at Syracuse University
- Oral history interview with Anna Hyatt-Huntington, (c. 1964)
- Goddess, Heroine, Beast: Anna Hyatt Huntington's New York Sculpture, 1902?1936
(exhibition), January 22 ? March 15, 2014, the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery
,
Columbia University
- Brookgreen Gardens
, at
Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
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