Person

Anna Hyatt Huntington

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.¹

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.² 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.³

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.⁴

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 22.⁵ 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.⁶

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.⁷

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.

¹ Jill S. Mesirow and Page Putnam Miller, “Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens” National Historic Landmark Nomination (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1992).
² “Brookgreen Gardens History,” Brookgreen Gardens, YouTube, August 19, 2019, accessed November 21, 2024.
³ “Huntington, Anna,” The Johnson Collection, accessed November 22, 2024.
⁴ “Joan of Arc Memorial,” Riverside Park: NYC Parks, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, accessed November 22, 2024.
⁵ United States Census Bureau, “Median age at first marriage: 1890 to present,” U.S. Department of Commerce, accessed November 21, 2024.
⁶ Chadd Scott, “The Vision and Sculpture of Anna Hyatt Huntington at Brookgreen Gardens,” Forbes, March 21, 2022, accessed November 22, 2024.
⁷ “Anna Hyatt Huntington,” South Carolina ECTV, YouTube, February 13, 2012, accessed November 22, 2024.