Merlin

Maurice Merlin and the American Scene, 1930–1947

Jan. 19–April 15, 2013

Maurice Merlin studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1929 to 1931 addressing the social tensions that faced the city and the nation during the 1930s with images of strikes, unemployed workers, and Detroit’s African American community. This exhibition includes work of fellow Detroit-based artists with paintings, posters, and watercolors on loan from collections in Los Angeles and Detroit, and is the first museum exhibition devoted primarily to Merlin’s career.

Welcoming the Snake: Chinese Cultural Arts Celebration

Jan. 27 (Sunday)

10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Explore the music, dance, and folk crafts of China in a day-long event that celebrates the beginning of the lunar new year season, ushering in the Year of the Snake. This event is a prelude to The Huntington’s Chinese New Year Festival on Feb. 16-17. Artists and performers from Jiangsu Province, China, will present traditional dance and demonstrate crafts such as kite-making, embroidery, beadwork, and sugar sculpture. Lion dancers and musicians will add to the spirit of celebration. General admission. View Program

Maritime

Britain and the Sea: Maritime Drawings and Watercolors from The Huntington’s Art Collections

This focused exhibition features fifteen rarely seen drawings and watercolors by marine artists such as John Thomas Serres, Charles Bentley, and Samuel Owen, depicting important battles and dramatic, romantic views of wind-tossed ships revealing a nation passing from the threat of war to command a prosperous peace.

Vance-Swallow

Lesley Vance & Ricky Swallow

Nov. 10, 2012-March 11, 2013

In a dramatic departure from tradition, The Huntington presents the first exhibition of contemporary paintings and sculpture to be displayed inside the Huntington Art Gallery, showcasing the work of Los Angeles–based artists Lesley Vance and Ricky Swallow.