For a short month, February has a lot of big birthdays—George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Charles Darwin, to name just a few. Perhaps none is bigger (here, at least) than Henry Edwards Huntington’s. He was born Feb. 27, 1850, in Oneonta, N.Y. Since the founding of this institution, officials have commemorated the anniversary with a Founder’s Day lecture. Continue reading
While “The King’s Speech” is not yet available on DVD, you can rent “A Single Man” and watch Firth’s Oscar-nominated performance from last year. That film is based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood (1904–1986), whose papers are at The Huntington and include drafts of “A Single Man.” His second draft, with handwritten corrections, is currently on display in the Library’s Exhibition Hall. Continue reading
Twenty-five volunteers gathered in the auditorium of the Botanical Center on a recent Wednesday afternoon for a lecture on plant anatomy. A slide of the apical meristem—the growing tip of the shoot—was projected on the screen as Huntington botanical educators talked about the major tissues that comprise plant organs. Continue reading
If you’re not sure what alchemy is, don’t look it up in the dictionary. Come to Bruce Moran’s lecture in Friends’ Hall, where he’ll explain it with some concrete examples from the 16th and 17th centuries. Continue reading
It’s hard for many people to get past the familiar image of George Washington that appears on the dollar bill. But if you wander through the manuscript and rare book displays currently on view in the hall, you’ll still find glimpses of Washington. Continue reading
Abraham Lincoln never set foot in California, but the Huntington Library has become one of the premier repositories of Lincolniana—manuscripts, books, letters, and ephemera by and about our 16th president. Continue reading
Next month, a new exhibition featuring the work of California sculptor John Frame opens at The Huntington. Filmmaker Johnny Coffeen explores the artist’s process in a 8-minute film, scored by Frame. It will be presented in the exhibition with Frame’s own stop-motion animation film featuring his handmade characters. Continue reading
In February, one of the most romantic places to stroll is among the camellias in the North Vista. Whether your idea of a perfect date is discussing the romance of Shakespeare’s plays, sipping a cup of jasmine tea overlooking a Chinese lake, or just walking hand-in-hand down the primrose path, The Huntington has it all. Continue reading
When many parts of the country are blanketed by snow, the winter landscape at The Huntington is covered with camellias. The Camellia Collection includes some 60 different species — many of them are at the peak of their bloom right now, putting on a dazzling display in the North Vista, the Japanese Garden, and the Garden of Flowing Fragrance. Continue reading
Filmmaker Johnny Coffeen explores the artist’s process in this 8-minute film, scored by John Frame. It will be presented in the exhibition with Frame’s own stop-motion animation film featuring his handmade characters. Three Fragments of a Lost Tale: Sculpture and Story by John Frame runs from March 12 – June 20, 2011 at The Huntington. Continue reading