The School of the Art Institute of Chicago cultivated artist Richard Hunt in the 1950s by the guidance of two dynamic teachers. Nelli Bar taught Richard Hunt during his adolescence, and Egon Weiner was his college professor. Bar and Weiner represent the generation of artists who fled Europe after the rise of the Nazi regime and found Chicago as the new home for their artistic ambitions. Both received their education in European academies under prominent teachers during the 1920s. Weiner and Bar produced a new post-war generation of artists, including Richard Hunt. Bar continued to accompany Hunt’s career as he recalls: “She has influenced me as a person over our 30-year relationship.” Hunt remembers Weiner for “his exuberance and nurturing manner – and for being a bundle of energy.” This energy was transmitted to his student Richard Hunt as the Museum of Modern Art purchased one of his sculptures in 1957 just after his graduation and eventually he evolved into one of the most prominent Chicago sculptors and an international master.
Sculpting a Chicago Artist is curated by Koehnline Museum of Art Curator Nathan Harpaz.