William Morris Hunt, now fifty-four, receives a…

William Morris Hunt, now fifty-four, receives a major commission in 1878 to paint two murals for the capitol in Albany, New York (entitled The Flight of Night and The Discoverer, they eventually are lost as a result of the disintegration of the stone panels on which they are painted).

Hun, who has focused predominately on the American landscape in his later work, writes (Talks on Art, 1878) and is a magnetic and persuasive teacher; among those influenced by him are the painter John La Farge and William and Henry James.