Loyola University honors Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Richard Hunt's vast body of work includes more than 160 public sculptures across the country.

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The Chicago native's work "Eagle Columns" can be seen in Jonquil Park at 1001 W. Wrightwood Avenue.

Now, more of his art will be seen in Chicago at the first exhibition since his death.

Hunt made his mark on the art world, just as the civil rights movement left its mark on him.

The Englewood native was a student at the School of the Art Institute when Emmett Till was brutally murdered.

Hunt attended the open casket funeral. That experience inspired Hunt to address social and political issues in his art.

Ross Stanton Jordan curated the new exhibit called "Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt."

"Hunt, at the time, was 19, only a few years apart from Emmett and created a work called hero's head in his father's basement," Jordan said. "That work was a welded work made of steel and it captures Hunt's response to the
murder of a neighbor essentially."

That piece starts off the exhibit which officially opens Friday, July 11 at the Loyola University Museum of Art.

It originated in Springfield at the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum.

"This idea of having our show in Springfield travel to Chicago made a lot of sense. This is his hometown," said Lance Tawzer director of exhibits and shows at the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum.

Hunt became an internationally renowned sculptor. He was commissioned to create a piece for the Obama Presidential Center.

A tribute to Emmett Till is at the beginning and at the end of the exhibit. This is the first time both pieces are being shown together.

"Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt" will be on display through November 2025.