The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-08-02
GREAT ARCHITECT GONE.
Death of Richard Morris Hunt, Another
Of RrmttlehOrO's FnmOMs Sons.

sobN'
Richard Morris Hunt, one of the
most famous of Brattderoro' sons, the
recognized leader among American
architects, the designer of the wonder
full administration building at the
Worlds fair at Chicago, and the mon
uments of whose genius are to be
found among the ioblest structures in
the land and some even in France, "a
man whose fame is world wide for its
achievements. died Wednesday noon
from nervous prostration at his sum
mer residence at Newport, X. |. He
had been i'll only about two weeks, and
very few even of his most intimate
friends knew that he was seriuosly out
of health, so that the news of his death
comes as a great surprise.
Mr.. Hunts rank in his art was
even greater than that of his painter
brother. the ill-fated William Morris
Hunt. He came of family that was
for generations among the most brainy
in Vermont. His father was Con
gressman Jonathan Hunt and his
grandfather, Jonathan Hunt, ST., lieu
tenant governor of the state in l79i9G,
and the famous Hnlnt family of New
York.is of the same stock, which was
also connected by marriage with the
Seymour family of Connecticut, from
which came Senator Horatio Sey-
mont his brother fEpaphro Seymour,
the Brattlcboro banker of former days,
aud their nephew Horatio Seymour.
the Democratic statesman of New York
and candidate for the president in
1868. Mr.. Hunts grandmother, Law
inia Swan of Boston, was pupil and
inmate of the home OF John Adams. af
terward president. His mother. Jane
Maria Leavitt, was also woman of
unusual intellectual endowment.
Richard Morris Hunt was born in
Brattleobro Oct. 81. 1923, SO that at
his death he was little less than 81
years old. His father, Congressman
Hunt, died when he was only four
years old and his mother soon after
moved to New Haven, Conn, where he
was educated in famous private
school and afterwards at the Boston
Latin school. His mother took him
abroad when he was but fifteen years
old, and he became a student of archi
lecture in Geneva. under Samuel
Darer Later he went to Paris as a
pupil of Hector Lefue and student
at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Then
he made tour through Europe. Asia
Minor and Egypt for purposes of study
and returned again TO Paris in 1884,
when he received from the French
government the appointment of lnspec
tor of Public Works in connection with
the new buildings connecting the
Tuileries with the Louvre. He was
placed in charge of the Pavilion de la
Biblotheque, opposite the Palais Royal
and made, under the eye of his master,
all the studies and drawingsa for this
Pavilion.
He returned to this country after all
these advantages in S.lo at the age of
27, and was at once engaged rs the
assistant of Thomas L. Waiter in pre-
pairing the plans, for the completion of
the capitol at Washington, winning
high credit by the work to which he
devoted himself closely for six months.
Settling then at New York, he engaged
actively in professional work. He
founded the American Institute of Ar
which now has on its rolls.
nearly all the reputable architects Of
the country and he was for many years
its president. His love of hisIsprofes
sion caused him to open an atclier for
students like those with which he was
familiar in Paris. In this atelier
many Of the leading architects in the
United States receievd instruction.
He was also member of the archi
tectural league. and Of several kindred
and he was one of three
belonging to the academy of
st. Luke. an Italian body Of artists
who claim the distinction of being the
oldest society of the KIND.
He was appointed member Of the
jury of fine arts at the International
at Paris in 1861, was made
a Knight of the Legion of Honor in
1882 and was elected member Of the
Institute of France. He was also 4 !
member of the Central Society of
French Architects, of the Society of
Engineers and Architects of Vienna,
and of the Academy of st, Luc, in
Rome. For many years he was a cor
member Of the Royal lnsti |
tute of British Architects. In. 1893 he
received from that body the highest
honor of his life, the gold medal pre-
sented annually by Queen Victoria TO
the afcnltecI OF dfcndeOiopiSi III tHe
world adjudged to have done the most
for the history or the advancement of
His was the first of
these medals that was ever bestowed |
upon an American. Indeed, no
American architect beside had so wide
md honoring recognition abroad.
Mr.. Hunt was the founder and pres |
dent of the Municipal Art Society, |
in New York only short
lime ago, the object of which was to
provide adequate pictorial and sculp
.ural decorations for the municipality |
If New York.
Millions of people will recall the
Administration Building
It the Worlds Fair, of which he was
he architect. He was one of the com
nittee of ten architects who supervised
he plans for all the buildings of the
,reat exhibition. He was the archi-
ect of the Vanderbilt mansions on
9ifth Avenue, of the Vanderbilt mau-
oleum at Newport. Staten Island: of
he Lenox library, of the original Pres
,yterian Hospital building. of the
theological library and the Marquand
Chapel, at Princeton: of the Key and
scroll Society building at Yale Col
ege. of the monument commemorating
he close of the Revolution, at York
own, Va. of the pedestal of the Stat
r I IL |