Volume 4, Number 3
Jul 1991

New Hunter Biography

(The following notice was taken from Tim Barrett's "Paper History" column in Bull and Branch, Newsletter of the Friends of the Dard Hunter Paper Museum, March 1991.)

Anyone with an affection for paper cannot help but admire the work of Dard Hunter. Invariably the admiration leads to a persistent curiosity about a very singular individual; his motivations, his background, his skills, his contributions. Until now we have had to depend almost solely on documentation provided by Hunter himself or his son Dard Hunter II. While My Life With Paper and Dard II's two volume work on his father have provided invaluable details, the perspective of an outside observer has always remained lacking.

If all goes according to plan, in the not too distant future this need will be met by a new biography on Hunter by Cathy Baker. Started by the late Patricia Scott, when completed, this work promises to give a wide audience a new understanding of Dard Hunter and his myriad contributions. Cathy's qualifications for the job include a long career in paper conservation, years of commitment to the Dard Hunter Collection and the Friends, an ongoing fascination with paper and paper history, and a profound and deeply felt respect for Dard Hunter and his work.

To undertake the required research, Cathy will be taking a one year sabbatical leave from her teaching position at the Buffalo State College Art Conservation Program.

Starting in June 1991, she will be doing quite a bit of travelling: along the west coast during the year of 1991; in Vienna in August/September 1991; and in England March/April 1992. In between these trips, she will be reading all available materials belonging to the Hunter family as well as conducting interviews and reading all of Hunter's published works. If anyone has any related information, especially unpublished, she would appreciate hearing from you. Contact her directly at: 77 Admiral Road, Buffalo, NY 14216 (716/838-4686).