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Jon Ott

"I want you to know I consider you my 'official biographer' . . . the shepherd of my legacy.

Your research and our dialogue put you in the unique position of being more knowledgeable of my history than any other person . . . I most fervently hope you will continue to tell my story after I am gone from this earth."


- Richard Hunt in a letter to Jon Ott, dated March 28, 2023

Jon Ott is the official biographer and exhibitions advisor for Richard Hunt. He is a founding board member of the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation and chair emeritus of the International Sculpture Center. Over the past several decades, Jon has spent countless hours with Richard Hunt in his studios and on the road, traveling to see art and visit friends. For the artist's monograph, Richard Hunt, Jon interviewed Richard Hunt for more than one hundred hours, producing a comprehensive illustrated chronology of the artist’s life.

 

Jon writes and speaks on Hunt's life and art, including appearances at the Chicago History Museum, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM). Recently, he authored an essay, "Richard Hunt: Sculpting Freedom," for the ALPLM exhibition Richard Hunt: Freedom in Form, was the exhibition advisor for Richard Hunt: Early Masterworks at White Cube New York, and is currently writing for Richard Hunt: Synthesis, an exhibition catalog by the Georgia Museum of Art. Jon is featured in the documentary film, The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt’s Monument to Ida B. Wells, and is an advising producer of the forthcoming documentary, Richard Hunt: A Monumental Life.

The Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation and Creative West’s Public Art Archive™ are pleased to announce a new partnership developed to inventory, document, and provide free online access to a comprehensive catalog of Richard Hunt’s extensive public art commissions throughout the U.S. With 160 public commissions, Hunt is the most prolific public sculptor in the U.S.​

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Jon Ott will be presenting at the Amon Carter Museum in conjunction with the exhibition, Richard Hunt: From Paper to Metal , on November 13, 2024 at 5:30 pm

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The exhibition is open from October 12, 2024 through March 2, 2025.

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