Huntington Library facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

"Huntington Botanical Gardens" redirects here. For the botanical garden in Huntington, Indiana, see Huntington University (United States). For the skyscraper in Houston, see The Huntingdon.

Quick facts for kids
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Founded	1919
Founders	Henry E. Huntington, Arabella Huntington
Type	Collections-based research and educational institution
Focus	Research, education
Location	San Marino, California, U.S.
Area served	Southern California
President	Karen R. Lawrence
Endowment	$411 million (as of June 30, 2013)
Employees	478
Volunteers	1,200

The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, often called The Huntington, is a special place for learning and research. It was started by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California.

The Huntington has three main parts: a huge library, an amazing art museum, and beautiful botanical gardens. The art collection focuses on European and American art from different centuries. The gardens cover about 120 acres and feature plants from all over the world, like the "Japanese Garden" and the "Desert Garden."

History of The Huntington
How The Huntington is Managed
The Huntington Library
- Research at The Library
Art Collections at The Huntington
Botanical Gardens
Images for kids
See also

History of The Huntington

The Huntington Library building, built in 1920. Its main reading room is now an exhibition hall.

Henry Edwards Huntington (1850–1927) helped develop Southern California. He was born in New York and was the nephew of Collis P. Huntington, a famous railroad builder.

In 1902, Henry Huntington moved to Los Angeles. In 1903, he bought a large piece of land called the "San Marino Ranch." He also bought other lands in the Pasadena and Los Angeles areas. He helped create the City of San Marino in 1913. Later that year, he married Arabella Huntington.

Henry Huntington was also in charge of the Pacific Electric Railway Company. This company ran streetcars and public transportation in the Los Angeles area. He helped connect many communities, which supported their growth.

Arabella greatly influenced Henry's interest in art. After World War I, it was a good time to buy art in Europe. Before he passed away in 1927, Henry Huntington collected many important 18th-century British portraits. In 1928, his collection was opened to the public, just as he wished.

In 1985, a small fire happened at the Huntington Art Gallery. It damaged one painting. After a year of repairs, the gallery reopened in 1986. Many people and groups donated money to help clean and fix the building and artworks.

In 2019, The Huntington started celebrating its 100th birthday! They had special exhibits, programs, and even a float in the 2020 Rose Parade.

The Huntington Art Gallery used to be the home of Henry and Arabella Huntington. It opened as a gallery in 1928.

How The Huntington is Managed

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is led by a team of people. The current President is Karen R. Lawrence.

The Huntington is a very well-supported cultural place in the United States. It has received a lot of donations and support over the years. This support has helped them make big improvements, like a new education and visitors center in 2015.

Each year, about 1,700 scholars come to do research at The Huntington. Also, around 600,000 people visit the gardens and galleries.

The Huntington Library

The Ellesmere Manuscript, a very old copy of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, is kept in the library.

The library building was designed in 1920 by architect Myron Hunt. It looks like buildings from the Mediterranean region.

The library holds a huge collection of rare books and manuscripts. These are old, special documents and books. They focus on British and American history, literature, art, and the history of science. The collection includes millions of items, some dating back to the 11th century!

Some amazing items you can find here are:

One of only eleven vellum copies of the Gutenberg Bible.
The Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales from the 1400s.
Letters and writings from famous people like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
The only library in the world with the first two early editions of Hamlet.
Benjamin Franklin's own autobiography.
Isaac Newton's personal copy of his famous science book, with his own notes.
Original writings from authors like Mark Twain and William Blake.

The library has a main hall where some of its most special items are shown. The West Hall has changing exhibits. There's also a permanent exhibit about the history of science, focusing on topics like astronomy and medicine.

In 2006, The Huntington bought the Burndy Library collection. This made The Huntington one of the best places in the world to study the history of science and technology. In 2022, the library also acquired the writings of American author Thomas Pynchon.

Research at The Library

If you are over 18 and need to do research, you can use the library's special reading rooms. The Huntington also gives about 150 grants to scholars each year. These grants help people study history, literature, art, and the history of science. The Huntington also hosts many talks and workshops for scholars.

In 1991, the library made its photos of the Dead Sea Scrolls available to all qualified scholars. Before this, only a few people could see them. The collection has 3,000 photos of these ancient scrolls.

The library also works with the University of Southern California to create research centers.

Art Collections at The Huntington

The Huntington has wonderful art collections. They are shown in the Huntington Art Gallery and the Virginia Steele Scott Gallery of American Art. There are also special temporary exhibits in other galleries.

European Art

The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough, painted around 1770.

Pinkie by Thomas Lawrence, painted around 1794.

The European art collection is mostly British and French paintings, sculptures, and decorative items from the 18th and 19th centuries. You can find these in The Huntington Art Gallery, which used to be Henry Huntington's home.

This collection also includes Italian and Northern European paintings. There are also beautiful 18th-century French tapestries, porcelain, and furniture. Some of the most famous artworks here are The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough and Pinkie by Thomas Lawrence.

American Art

The Huntington also has a great collection of American art. This includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and photos from the 17th to the mid-20th century. The Huntington only started collecting American art in 1979. This was when they received a gift of 50 paintings.

The Virginia Steele Scott Gallery of American Art was created in 1984. In 2009, this gallery was made bigger and improved. It now has more space for the growing American art collection. Important American artworks include Breakfast in Bed by Mary Cassatt and The Long Leg by Edward Hopper. The collection has about 12,000 works, mostly drawings, photos, and prints.

In 2014, the library acquired a large mural called Southern California landscape (1934) by Millard Sheets.

New Art Acquisitions

The Huntington often adds new artworks to its collections.

In 1999, they acquired a large collection of items by the artist and designer William Morris. This included stained glass, wallpaper, textiles, and over 2,000 books.
In 2005, actor Steve Martin gave $1 million to The Huntington to help with art exhibitions and buying new art.
In 2009, Andy Warhol's painting Small Crushed Campbell's Soup Can (Beef Noodle) was donated.
In 2012, the museum bought its first major artwork by an African-American artist. It was a 22-foot-long carved redwood panel from 1937 by sculptor Sargent Claude Johnson.
In 2023, the museum showed a 320-year-old Japanese home. This house was carefully taken apart in Japan, shipped, and put back together in California. It was like building a "giant model airplane."

Botanical Gardens

An Amorphophallus titanum, also known as a "corpse flower," blooming at The Huntington in August 2014.

The Conservatory at The Huntington.

The Huntington's botanical gardens cover 120 acres. They show plants from all over the world. Henry Huntington worked hard to make these plants grow well in California's climate. Today, the gardens are used for plant research and for visitors to enjoy.

The gardens are divided into many different themes. Some of these include the Australian Garden, Children's Garden, Desert Garden, Japanese Garden, Rose Garden, and the Chinese Garden.

The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science has a large collection of tropical plants. It also has a section for carnivorous plants. The Huntington helps protect rare and endangered plant species. Sometimes, a special plant called the Amorphophallus titanum, or "corpse flower," blooms here. It's famous for its very strong smell! Many corpse flowers have bloomed at The Huntington since 1999.

The Camellia Collection has nearly 80 different camellia species. The Rose Garden has about 1,200 types of roses. They are arranged to show how roses have changed over time.

Chinese Garden

The Chinese Garden, Liu Fang Yuan.

The Chinese garden, called Liu Fang Yuan (Garden of Flowing Fragrance), is one of the largest outside of China. It opened in 2008. Artisans from Suzhou, China helped build the first part of the garden.

The garden covers about 12 acres. It has man-made lakes with pavilions connected by bridges. Many parts of the garden have special Chinese names, like the tea house, called the "Hall of the Jade Camellia." Other spots include the "Love for the Lotus Pavilion" and the "Terrace of the Jade Mirror."

The second part of the garden opened in 2014. It added more pavilions, a waterfall, and bridges. There is also a place to display its large collections of penjing and bonsai plants.

Desert Garden

The Desert Garden.

The Desert Garden is one of the biggest and oldest outdoor collections of cacti and other succulents in the world. These are plants that can live in very dry places. Many of these plants were collected by Henry E. Huntington and the garden curator, William Hertrich.

This garden helped people learn about and appreciate these unique plants in the early 1900s. Today, the Desert Garden is still one of the best in the world, with over 5,000 different species.

Japanese Garden

The Japanese Garden.

The Japanese Garden bridge.

In 1911, Henry E. Huntington bought a Japanese tea garden. This became the start of what is now the Japanese Garden. It was finished in 1912 and opened to the public in 1928.

The garden has three main parts:

An original stroll garden with koi fish ponds and a drum or moon bridge.
A dry garden with raked gravel, added in 1968.
A traditional tea garden.

The Japanese Garden also has a large bell and an authentic ceremonial teahouse. There is a fully furnished Japanese house and a collection of hundreds of bonsai trees. You can also see Suiseki or viewing stones, which are an ancient Japanese art form.