The Huntington to Launch New Library Exhibition Series

Drawing more than 3 million visitors to the Library Exhibition Hall since its debut, “Remarkable Works, Remarkable Times: Highlights from the Huntington Library” will close on May 26. The beloved exhibition, which highlights renowned works and contemporaneous items from The Huntington’s vast collections, will be succeeded by a new exhibition series titled Stories from the Library, opening June 21 in the Huntington Art Gallery. The new series will feature many items that have never been exhibited before.

More than a Decade of Impact

Launched in 2013, “Remarkable Works, Remarkable Times” transformed the visitor experience at The Huntington. The New York Times praised it for reimagining the research library as “democratized, localized, [and] personalized.” The Los Angeles Times commended its “fresh perspective,” while Art Daily highlighted how it was “designed to invigorate visitors’ sense of connection to history and literature.”

The exhibition centers on 12 foundational items—including the Gutenberg Bible, the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare’s First Folio, and typescript pages of Octavia E. Butler’s novel Kindred—each serving as a gateway into wider historical, cultural, and disciplinary narratives. These key works are displayed among a diverse range of materials that rotate, such as a 16th-century literacy primer containing prayers in Latin, Spanish, and Nahuatl; encoded U.S. Civil War telegram messages and 19th-century photographs of the American West; and 20th-century annotated typescripts by Charles Bukowski and Eve Babitz.

Highlighting the Obscure

While celebrated artifacts have drawn visitors in, the more obscure objects—such as a 1930s Chinese “coaching paper” used in immigration interviews or a handwritten letter from Susan B. Anthony to Elizabeth Cady Stanton—have often left the most powerful impressions.

“‘Remarkable Works’ helped reshape how people think about history, knowledge, and discovery,” said Sandra Brooke Gordon, Avery Director of the Library at The Huntington. “We’re excited to build on that legacy with a new format that allows rarely exhibited items to be seen and celebrated.”

New Series to Encourage Curiosity

Launching this summer, Stories from the Library will debut in two rooms in the historic Huntington Art Gallery. Drawing from the Library’s approximately 12 million items, each exhibition in the new series will use an unexpected theme to frame a remarkable item and related works.

“Stories from the Library is about making room for curiosity,” said Vanessa Wilkie, William A. Moffett Senior Curator of Medieval Manuscripts and British History and head of library curatorial. “It’s a chance to elevate lesser-known collection items, break down silos among disciplines, and show how a wide variety of people create the historical record.”

Wilkie and Erin Chase, associate curator of architecture and photography, are cocurating the new series, along with the Library’s entire curatorial team. The first two installments, opening June 21, will feature many objects being shown for the first time. New exhibitions will rotate every six months, offering visitors continued opportunities to explore the breadth and diversity of the Library’s collections.

Last Chance to See “Remarkable Works”

Guests are encouraged to visit “Remarkable Works, Remarkable Times” in the Library Exhibition Hall before it closes on May 26. More details about the debut of the Stories from the Library series will be announced in the coming weeks.

Read more about “Remarkable Works, Remarkable Times” and the exhibition series Stories from the Library.

Generous support for the Stories from the Library exhibition series is provided by the Robert F. Erburu Exhibition Endowment. Additional support is provided by The Neilan Foundation, the Steinmetz Foundation, and Laura and Carlton Seaver.

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