from Princeton University (1922) and then received a Rhodes scholarship, which he used to earn his second bachelor's degree at Christ Church, Oxford in 1926.
His tenure was marked by significant acquisitions of engravings, woodcuts, and other printed material, some by then-unknown artists who proved later to be eminently collectible.
He accepted the Jefferson Burdick collection at the Met, which included 300,000 items of American prints and memorabilia.
In 1955 he had succeeded his uncle Archer as president of the Hispanic Society of America, and he continued to serve until his death.
Among other accolades he received, French poet St. John Perse once said that "Hyatt Mayor was the only American who spoke classic French in such a way that Diderot or Voltaire could have taken him for a Frenchman," and New York Times columnist John Russell called him "one of the most remarkable men who ever held a curatorial post."