Frontiers
Huntington Frontiers connects readers with the rich intellectual life of The Huntington, capturing in news and features the work of researchers, educators, curators, and others across a range of disciplines. It is produced semi-annually by The Huntington’s Office of Communications and Marketing.
Examining The Blue Boy
Sun., April 1, 2018 | Usha Lee McFarlingA paintings conservator and an ear surgeon talk shopThomas Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy (ca. 1770) may well be an icon of Western art and one of the most beloved attractions at The Huntington, but now that it is nearly 250 years old, this epic portrait is in need of some tender loving care.
Floriform
Sun., Oct. 1, 2017 | James GlissonDon't expect a garden variety flower from a modernist painterA rose is a rose is a rose, but what a rose can mean in different contexts is staggeringly varied. Take the red rose. A token of romantic affection, it is also the flower of the City of Pasadena and its world-famous Rose Parade.
Scholar's Insight: A Riveting Hypothesis
Sun., Oct. 1, 2017 | Racha KirakosianThe recess in a book's cover may have contained more than meets the eye By Racha KirakosianOne of the most pleasurable experiences one can have as a medievalist...
Welcome to the Ranch
Sun., Oct. 1, 2017 | Usha Lee McFarlingThe Huntington's experimental demonstration garden educates and enchantsIf ever there were a secret garden, it's the Ranch Garden at The Huntington...
Lessons Learned: In the Woods With a Canoe
Sun., Oct. 1, 2017 | Terence YoungA historian of camping scrutinizes Frederick Jackson Turner's Encounter with WildernessBy Terence YoungCamping is one of the country's most popular pastimes...
The Perfect Wedding Gift
Two 15th-century panels from an Italian wedding chest tell a tale of passionate love
Sat., April 1, 2017 | Catherine HessNewly married couples in 15th- and 16th-century Italy—like newlyweds today—could expect to receive a pile of wedding gifts. One of the most common gifts was a cassone, or big box...
Archiving the Civil War’s Text Messages
Sat., April 1, 2017 | Daniel Lewis, Ph.D.A massive crowdsourcing project is digitizing thousands of coded Union telegramsTo gain insights into the U.S. Civil War, The Huntington launched an innovative crowdsourcing project last year to transcribe and decipher a collection of telegrams
A Passion for Cycads
Sat., April 1, 2017 | Usha Lee McFarlingSurvivors from the dinosaur age, cycads continue to captivate collectors and researchersCycads are squat, woody, and branchless. They have no flowers, just spiky leaves that shred clothes and tear skin. They grow slowly, poison livestock and sometimes people.