Richard Morris Hunt Biography

Architect Richard Morris Hunt was instrumental in founding the American Institute of Architects and is best known as the designer of the Biltmore House, the largest private home in the United States. Hunt spent much of his youth in Europe, and studied in Paris before returning to the U.S. in 1855. During his career he designed several New York apartment buildings, but was mostly known for his work for wealthy clients, for whom he designed houses in New York City, Boston and Newport, Rhode Island. He also taught in New York, where he developed an educational framework and stressed high standards for materials as well as designs. Hunt’s early designs were influenced by the French Renaissance style, and he brought classical sensibilities to many New York buildings. His most famous works include the base for the Statue of Liberty, the Administration Building for the Chicago World’s Fair (1893) and the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.