Born: 10 March 1876, United States
Died: 4 October 1973
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Mrs. Archer M. Huntington, Anna Vaughn Hyatt
The following is republished from the National Park Service. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Anna Hyatt Huntington was an artist who specialized in sculpting lifelike animals. She was one of the most commercially successful sculptors of her era.
Anna Vaughn Hyatt was born on March 10, 1876. Her family provided inspiration and guidance for her future career: her mother, Audella Beebe Hyatt, was an artist specializing in watercolors; her father, Alpheus Hyatt, was a paleontologist and zoologist; and her sister, Harriet, was a sculptor.
Hyatt studied zoology to be able to depict animals’ musculature and form accurately. Animals wouldn’t stay still for the long posing sessions generally demanded of human models, so she relied on her unusually excellent visual memory to recall their precise appearance. When the family moved to New York, she often spent time at the Bronx Zoo, watching how different animals moved and interacted. Hyatt was a primarily self-taught artist, learning through observation and practice.
In 1906 Hyatt traveled to Paris, France, where her sculptures received popular and critical acclaim. While in France, she was commissioned by an American organization to produce a statue of the French military hero Joan of Arc as a symbol of good international relations between the U.S. and France. Set on Riverside Drive in New York City, “Jeanne d’Arc” was the first statue produced by a woman artist to be displayed in the city.
Hyatt married Archer Milton Huntington on March 10, 1923. Huntington was the heir to a fortune made in railroad construction. He was enthusiastic about spending his inheritance to construct museums and collect art.
When the couple married, she was 47 years old. In the 1920s, most women married between the ages of 20 and 22. However, in part because Hyatt had a successful career, she didn’t need to marry to ensure future financial security. In fact, she refused Huntington’s marriage proposals until he promised that marriage would not interfere with her career.
When Hyatt Huntington was diagnosed with tuberculosis, the Huntingtons decided to move south to a warmer climate. The couple purchased thousands of acres in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. In 1931, they used the property they’d bought to found Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens, the first public sculpture garden in the U.S.
Hyatt Huntington’s sculptures were the first to be put on display in Brookgreen Gardens. She also took the lead on collecting other sculptors’ work to feature. As the collection grew, Brookgreen Gardens displayed artwork by many other women, making it a notable landmark in American women’s art history.
Hyatt Huntington died in 1973 at the age of 97.
The following is excerpted from Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company.
Anna Vaughn Hyatt, an American sculptor, born at Cambridge, Mass. Her work consists chiefly of small bronzes of animals, notable examples of which are in the Metropolitan Museum. Her bronze equestrian statue of Joan of Arc adorns Riverside Drive in the City of New York, and her productions have been exhibited in most of the salons of Europe.
In 1923 Miss Hyatt married to Archer M. Huntington, the American historian and patron of art.