Vincent Lugo, whose family papers are at The Huntington, helped build the beloved La Laguna de San Gabriel playground, also known as “Monster Park.” The so-called monsters are play sculptures of an octopus called Ozzie, a whale known as Minnie, and a starfish named Stella, among other smiling sea creatures.
The Huntington has announced the acquisition of Zhou Dunyi Admiring Lotuses, a rare hanging scroll painted by Qiu Ying (ca. 1495–ca. 1552), one of the most celebrated Chinese artists of the 16th century.
Art exhibitions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries created rich immersive environments of fine art working in tandem with other media, which today can seem like a bewildering jumble. The Huntington’s “Paintings, Peepshows, and Porcupines” conference will begin to make sense of this apparent chaos.
With the aim of engaging a more diverse cross section of people, The Huntington created the Meet Me in the Garden program as a way of welcoming visitors with different sensory needs. The program is geared toward families with members who identify as disabled, but all guests can participate.
Items range from handmade jewelry to frameable art and home goods, all in tune with The Huntington’s remarkable library, art, and botanical collections.
Renowned American artist Betye Saar’s large-scale work “Drifting Toward Twilight” will go on view Nov. 11, 2023, in the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art.
Some people assume that the Gutenberg Bible is the oldest printed book at The Huntington. But there’s a much older one that dates back almost 1,000 years ago! Curator Li Wei Yang explores the connections between the printing cultures of China and Europe.
The Huntington’s Botanical staff members routinely collaborate with other institutions to tackle conservation challenges. Most of the time, these are carefully planned projects: propagating rare and endangered species, making gardens more resilient to the changing climate, and teaching cryopreservation or culturing plant tissue. But sometimes, the unexpected happens.