Over the past summer, 18 interns from universities across the country worked with The Huntington’s library, art, and botanical collections. One of the interns, Connell Boken, is a sophomore at Whitman College in Washington. A Pasadena native, Boken got to know The Huntington by going to its summer program, Huntington … Continue reading
Category Archives: Profiles
Volunteering to Decipher Paul Conrad
Meet Huntington volunteer Dennis Harbach. Over the past two years, Harbach has laughed, cried, and winced his way through the gargantuan task of producing searchable metadata for the satirical cartoons in the Paul Conrad papers. Paul Conrad served as chief editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times from 1964 to … Continue reading
A Prairie Boy’s Passion for Bonsai
The irony doesn’t escape Ted Matson. Raised on the prairie of North Dakota, without a tree in sight, the one-time farm boy followed a path in life that led to a full-time career in bonsai. That path also led him to The Huntington, where Matson joined the staff in February … Continue reading
Welcoming a New President
As Laura Skandera Trombley steps into her office today as the new president of The Huntington, she surely must feel that her arrival is a homecoming of sorts. Trombley often visited the gardens as a child with her mother, walking among the roses and being awed by the beauty of … Continue reading
Together, We Did This
On June 30, an era draws to a close at The Huntington as President Steve Koblik steps up to his well-deserved retirement. Before we turn the page to the next chapter in our history, Susan Turner-Lowe, vice president for communications and marketing at The Huntington, casts an eye over the … Continue reading
Peggy Bernal’s True Calling
There are jobs, and then there are callings. Most of us have at least a passing acquaintance with the former; we take a job because we need a paycheck, and we move along without regret when a better offer presents itself. But if we’re lucky, we also know what it … Continue reading
The Gift of Time
Every now and then a coworker comes along who is absolutely made for the job. They live it, breathe it, are the essence of the work—so much so that you think the job is them. In fact, you don’t know which came first; it’s a sort of workplace chicken and … Continue reading
Bookended by a Pair of Awards
Earlier this month, Adria L. Imada won the annual Lawrence W. Levine Award from the Organization of American Historians for the best book in American cultural history, Aloha America: Hula Circuits through the U.S. Empire (Duke University Press). The awards committee noted: “Through nuanced readings of diverse bodies of evidence—interviews … Continue reading
LECTURES | Shedding New Light on Old Manuscripts
With their high-tech lighting equipment and software, Greg Bearman and Ken Boydston can reveal hidden text in old, darkened manuscripts. Called spectral imaging (or sometimes multi-spectral imaging), the technique bounces different wavelengths of light off objects to increase the contrast between ink and parchment, rendering the invisible visible. “Instead of … Continue reading
Tropical Plant Research at The Huntington
The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science and attendant greenhouse facilities are well-stocked with palms, orchids, carnivorous plants, and many other tropical plants. Members of the aroid family (Araceae) such as Anthurium, Philodendron, and Pothos are especially well-represented and accessible to Conservatory visitors. Their bold foliage and distinctive growth … Continue reading