Strange and Fearful

A Strange and Fearful Interest: Death, Mourning, and Memory in the American Civil War

Oct. 13, 2012–Jan. 14, 2013

A major exhibition of more than 200 original photographs related to the Civil War that explores how images explained, reflected, and shaped a national fixation on death and mourning.

Garden Talk and Sale: Gifts from the Succulent Garden

Dec. 13 (Thursday)

2:30 p.m.   Free

John Trager, curator of desert collections at The Huntington, shares tips for making unique hand-crafted gifts using living succulent plants. He’ll discuss the basic techniques for creating vertical wall planters (the hottest trend in succulent displays) plus decorative wreaths and dish gardens. A plant sale follows the program. Free. Friends’ Hall

Alpine Skeletons

Alpine Skeletons: Marsden Hartley Silverpoint Drawings

Oct. 20, 2012–Jan. 7, 2013

In 21 rarely exhibited silverpoint drawings from The Huntington's collections, American artist Marsden Hartley rendered the immense Bavarian Alps with delicate lines, transforming them into wispy, airy abstractions he called “skeletons."

Vance-Swallow

Lesley Vance & Ricky Swallow

Nov. 10, 2012-March 11, 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.

Maritime

Britain and the Sea: Maritime Drawings and Watercolors from The Huntington’s Art Collections

This focused exhibition features fifteen rarely seen drawings and watercolors by marine artists such as John Thomas Serres, Charles Bentley, and Samuel Owen, depicting important battles and dramatic, romantic views of wind-tossed ships revealing a nation passing from the threat of war to command a prosperous peace.

Just Cause

A Just Cause: Voices of the American Civil War

Sept. 22, 2012–Jan. 7, 2013

Drawn entirely from The Huntington’s collections of manuscripts and printed materials, this exhibition examines the ways Northerners and Southerners viewed the rationale for the Civil War, which made it, in the words of one war veteran, “a battle of ideas interrupted by artillery.”