Collections

• Lyda Collection, UNCA
• Related Oral Interviews: UNCA
• E.M. Ball Photo Collection: UNCA
• Correspondence: AAM, ABLS, UNCA
• Watercolors, Drawings and Blueprints: AAM, ABLS, UNCA
• Documents AAM, ABLS, UNCA

Biographical Information

Richard Hunt Morris (October 31, 1827-July 31, 1895) is possible one of the most famous architects to be active in Western North Carolina and a leading practitioner of this art in 19th century America. He was born in Vermont to parents of prominent New England extraction. His interest in architecture sprang from a trip to Europe early in his life following his fathers death. He apparently was an ambitious student and became the first American to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, then the principal architectural school in the world. His career began with his employment by H. M. Lefuel for nine years. In 1855 he established his own independent practice in New York city, he soon became a leader in his field and played an important role in establishing the American Institute of Architects.

Hunt designed the New York Tribune building in the Victorian Gothic Style. He began working with different branches of the Vanderbilt family in 1879, designing a Long Island home and a urban New York home for William Kissam Vanderbilt. This association that would latter lead to his work for the more famous William Henry Vanderbilt in collaborating with Olmstead on constructing the Biltmore mansion in Asheville North Carolina. This mansion was designed in accordance with the French renaissance style that Hunt had worked in previously. Hunt was the primary architect of the Biltmore project and its final form owed much to his imaginative stamp. In addition to this monumental work Hunt also did some interesting work designing similarly rustic and traditional private homes in the Biltmore Village on nearby estate grounds. These structures included extensive use of have timber, pebble dash, and stucco, they were meant to be reminiscent of traditional French and English architecture and at the same time exude and aura of wealth. In the same community Hunt also designed the impressive All Souls Episcopal Church, of which he was particularly proud.

http://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000278

The Buildings

Related Oral Interviews

Selected Correspondence

Selected Documents

Bibliography

Typological Motifs in Hunt's Work

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