Past Exhibitions

May 31, 2013–Sept. 2, 2013

Rare examples of early American needlework offer new insight into the lives and skills of the young women who made them.

March 8, 2013–July 8, 2013

"When They Were Wild: Recapturing California's Wildflower Heritage," showcases more than 300 items—drawings, paintings, herbarium specimens, photographs, and other objects—that trace the journey of California's plants from the flower fields into the home garden.

Feb. 23, 2013–June 18, 2013

The works in this exhibition—studies and sketches spanning nearly three centuries—provide glimpses into how artists such as Peter Lely, Charles West Cope, and David Wilkie attempted to capture the emotive force of the human hand.

Feb. 16, 2013–May 14, 2013

To mark San Marino's centennial year, The Huntington has mounted a special exhibition titled "Cultivating California: The Founding Families of the San Marino Ranch," on view Feb. 16–May 13. The exhibition tells the story of the Wilson, Shorb, and Patton families, who helped transform a region of one-time Spanish land grants into an agricultural paradise.

Jan. 19, 2013–April 16, 2013

"Maurice Merlin and the American Scene, 1930–1947" brings together approximately 30 paintings, watercolors, and prints by Merlin, as well as nine works by others in his circle, to shed light on the vibrant Detroit art scene in which Merlin worked while employed by the federal government's Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Nov. 10, 2012–March 12, 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.

Nov. 3, 2012–Feb. 19, 2013

This exhibition features fifteen rarely seen works by marine artists such as John Thomas Serres, Charles Bentley, and Samuel Owen. From documentary records of important battles to dramatic, romantic views of wind-tossed ships, the images reveal a nation passing from the threat of war to command a prosperous peace.

July 16, 2012–Jan. 15, 2013

A Strange and Fearful Interest is drawn exclusively from The Huntington's collection of photographs related to the Civil War, offering an unprecedented opportunity to bring this rare and evocative material to light.

Sept. 22, 2012–Jan. 8, 2013

"A Just Cause: Voices of the American Civil War" explores the war-time debate on the causes and mission of "this cruel war." The debate that began long before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter became increasingly fierce as the war raged on and casualties on both sides piled up.

Oct. 20, 2012–Jan. 8, 2013

Between September 1933 and March 1934, American artist Marsden Hartley (1877-1943) traveled to Germany. First landing in Hamburg, he wended his way south to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a village in the Bavarian Alps, producing works that captured the spare geometries of the surrounding mountains.