Huntington, Anna Vaughn Hyatt

Pryor, Erin

1876-03-10

Cambridge, MA

1973-10-04

Sculptor

Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington was a popular American sculptor in the early 1900s. She was known for her realistic sculptures of animals. Growing up, Anna's father Alpheus was a professor of paleontology and zoology at Harvard University. He inspired Anna’s interest in animals at a young age. Anna first worked with sculptor Henry Hudson Kitson while in Boston, however, he kicked her out when she critiqued his work. Next, she was taught by Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Gutzon Borglum while attending the Art Student League of New York. Anna left school to independently study where she often would visit the Bronx Zoo. She met and collaborated with sculptor Abastenia St. Leger Eberle until moving to Europe in 1907. She continued to independently study in Europe in Auvers-sur Oise. She was fascinated by horses which were often the subject of her sculptures. Huntington is known for her life-size, realistic depictions of horses. Anna’s art was entered into a competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Anna was one of the first woman artists to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. With her career at its peak, she married her husband Archer Milton Huntington in 1923. The couple bought Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina in 1930. The property first acted as a personal home for Anna while she battled Tuberculosis. Anna contracted tuberculosis in 1927. She battled the disease for a decade and survived. Eventually, the Brookgreen Gardens were opened to the public to display over 300 hundred sculptures. During the Great Depression, the Gardens supported struggling sculptors by commissioning pieces. The present-day gardens hold over 900 sculptures. Anna was a member of the National Academy of Design and the National Sculpture Society. Anna and Archer were large benefactors to the organizations. The couple founded 14 museums and wildlife preserves. Huntington’s work is held in museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Academy of Design, the New York Historical Society, the Hispanic Society of America, and Columbia University. One of her most famous sculptures was Joan of Arc which is located in Manhattan, New York.

Anna and Archer never had any children. The couple remained married until Archer passed away in 1955. After her husband’s death, Anna remained consistent with her work into the 1980s. Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington died in Redding, Connecticut after a series of strokes.