Richard Morris Hunt is best known for his opulent Gilded Age Vanderbilt mansions, yet his impact on American culture after the Civil War ranges far beyond his lavish palaces. In The Gilded Life of Richard Morris Hunt (D Giles Limited in association with the Library of Congress, 2024), historian Sam Watters reveals Hunt’s remarkable influence in creating the institutions and their conventions that transformed Old World traditions into his generation’s idea of an American civilization, through architecture, interior design, sculpture, painting, and the advocacy of artisan trades.

Watters repositions Hunt and his forty-year career in light of new discoveries and connections made in the cataloging and studying of the Hunt Collection, 2010-2024. Featuring 200 illustrations, including Hunt drawings, images he collected, portraits of his privileged New York and Newport inner circle, and new photographs and plans, this dynamic biography follows the contours of American thought that shaped Hunt’s life and work among the ruling one percent.

For built and unbuilt projects by Hunt and his office, see the Architectural Work by Hunt and His Office page in this guide.