Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) opened "Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt" on July 11, 2025, running through November 15, 2025. Originally planned as a celebration of the renowned Chicago sculptor's career while he was still alive, the exhibition became a posthumous tribute after Hunt died on December 16, 2023, at age 88. The show originated at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield, suggested by Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker, and was later brought to LUMA in Hunt's hometown. It features sculptures, maquettes, tools, his personal workbench, and over 250 books from his library of 5,000 volumes, highlighting his seven-decade career and his role as an adjunct faculty member at Loyola University Chicago.
The exhibition matters because it cements Richard Hunt's legacy as the most prolific public sculptor in U.S. history, with works like "Angled Angel" (2011) and "Sea Change" (1986) on Loyola's campus. It offers young artists an inspiring example of how student work can become personally and socially significant, especially given Hunt's engagement with Civil Rights themes through his abstract metal sculptures. The show also underscores the importance of university museums in preserving and presenting local artistic heritage, and it connects Hunt's artistic practice to broader conversations about freedom, transformation, and racial justice.