A Grand Menagerie: The Sculpture of Anna Hyatt Huntington

Anna Hyatt Huntington

April 20, 2024 - October 6, 2024

Anne Noland Edwards Gallery

free

About the exhibition

A Grand Menagerie: The Sculpture of Anna Hyatt Huntington examines the work of this pioneering early 20th-century sculptor, bringing together nearly one hundred works from over 30 museums across the United States. Huntington (1876 –1973) was an internationally celebrated sculptor in her time. Born Anna Vaughn Hyatt in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the artist attended some classes at the Art Students League in New York City, but was largely self-taught. By 1906, the Metropolitan Museum of Art had made the first of several acquisitions of her work.

In 1923, Hyatt married philanthropist, poet, and arts patron Archer M.Huntington, son of railroad magnate and Newport News shipyardfounder Collis P. Huntington. In 1930, Archer founded the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, and Anna created a number of works for the grounds, including the locally-beloved Lions Bridge sculptures. In 1931, the couple founded Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, a sculpture garden and nature preserve where many of her large sculptures are installed on permanent display.

This exhibition presents the contributions of Anna Hyatt Huntington to a broader audience, including the Newport News community where the artist made significant contributions. Best known for her remarkably realistic sculptures of animals, the artist enjoyed a thriving career producing both small-scale collectibles as well as monumental public sculptures, a pursuit undertaken by very few women of her day.

Huntington's keen scientific interest in capturing the anatomy of animals was matched only by her ability to render them in both graphic detail and dynamic action. Depicting domesticated animals as well as more exotic specimens including monkeys, elephants, and lions, Huntington’s works are outstanding within the tradition of classical figurative sculpture.