The mission of art is to represent nature not to imitate her.

Sheldon in his American Painters "and one of the few really great American painters Mr. He was among the biggest proponents of the Barbizon school in America and he more than any other turned the rising generation of American painters towards Paris. Hunt is widely credited for having influenced the styles of Winslow Homer Childe Hassam and John Joseph Enneking.

William Morris Hunt (March 31 1824 – September 8 1879) American painter was born at Brattleboro Vermont to Jane Maria (Leavitt) Hunt and Hon. William Morris Hunt was the leading painter of mid-19th century Boston Massachusetts. Jonathan Hunt who raised one of the preeminent families in American art.