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Collectors’ Councils

A person looks at framed artwork in a gallery.A person looks at framed artwork in a gallery.

The Collectors’ Councils play a vital role supporting art and library curators in acquiring relevant objects that expand The Huntington’s collections and provide new opportunities for cross-cultural understanding, inspiring present and future generations at The Huntington and beyond.

The council members enjoy exclusive events throughout the year, including behind-the-scenes tours of special exhibitions and collections, as well as specialist-led trips to institutions and private collections near and far.

Art Collectors’ Council

Founded in 1994, the Art Collectors’ Council meets every spring to select works for acquisition presented by The Huntington’s curatorial staff. Annual dues: $10,000.

The Huntington Acquires Rare and Important Artworks That Expand the American, European, and Chinese Collections

October 2024: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens expanded its American, European, and Chinese art collections in 2024 with acquisitions of works by Richmond Barthé, Helen Pashgian, and Gu Qiao, among others. These acquisitions were selected by The Huntington’s Art Collectors’ Council, which has supported the growth of the permanent collection for the past 30 years. Read more

A group of people pose in front of a brightly lit and colorful artwork by Keith Haring.
A group of people look closely at a painting.
Two people look at artwork in a gallery.
Three carved wood panels on a wall that form a semicircle.
A group of people smile at each other.
Two people look at a painting on a wall.
Two people stand and talk outdoors.
A painting of Moanahonga (Great Walker), An Ioway Chief.
A group of people gathered in an art gallery.
Two people sit in chairs in front of artwork in a gallery.
Two people look at a painting on a wall.
A group of people pose in front of a brightly lit and colorful artwork by Keith Haring.
A group of people look closely at a painting.
Two people look at artwork in a gallery.
Three carved wood panels on a wall that form a semicircle.
A group of people smile at each other.
Two people look at a painting on a wall.
Two people stand and talk outdoors.
A painting of Moanahonga (Great Walker), An Ioway Chief.
A group of people gathered in an art gallery.
Two people sit in chairs in front of artwork in a gallery.
Two people look at a painting on a wall.

The Art Collector's Council took a group trip to "Luna Luna", in May 2024. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Members of the Art Collectors’ Council at the special viewing of Zhou Dunyi Admiring Lotuses by Qiu Ying, with Phillip Bloom, curator of the Chinese Garden, and Michelle Bailey, assistant curator of the Center for East Asian Garden Studies. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

The acquisition viewing for the Art Collectors’ Council in 2022, with Dennis Carr, Virginia Steele Scott Chief Curator of American Art. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.  

Sargent Claude Johnson, Organ Screen, 1933–34, gilded and painted redwood, 105 × 264 × 2 in. Photo: © 2014 Fredrik Nilsen. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Members of the Art Collectors’ Council at the special viewing of Zhou Dunyi Admiring Lotuses by Qiu Ying, with Phillip Bloom, curator of the Chinese Garden, and Michelle Bailey, assistant curator of the Center for East Asian Garden Studies. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

The acquisition viewing for the Art Collectors’ Council in 2022. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

A reception for “A Conversation with Artist Enrique Martínez Celaya” in August 2023. Photo by Linnea Stephan. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Charles Bird King, Moanahonga (Great Walker), An Ioway Chief, ca. 1824, oil on panel, 17 1/2 x 13 3/4 in. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

An exhibition tour of “In Our Time: Prints by R.B. Kitaj” for the Art Collectors’ Council, with Sabina Zonno, curatorial research associate of European art. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

A 2023 event for the Art Collectors’ Council featured Gee’s Bend artist Louisiana Bendolph in conversation with Lauren Cross, Gail-Oxford Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts. Photo by Elizabeth Clingerman. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

The acquisition viewing for the Art Collectors’ Council in 2022. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Library Collectors’ Council

Founded in 1998, the Library Collectors’ Council meets annually to select material for acquisition presented by The Huntington’s curatorial staff. Annual dues: $5,000.

Library Collectors’ Council Acquisitions for 2025

April 2025: The Huntington has acquired six extraordinary collections through the generosity of the Library Collectors’ Council. This year’s acquisitions include previously unknown letters from a 17th-century Caribbean slave trader, a rare 1764 eyewitness account from Pontiac’s War, records of Chinese indentured laborers in 19th-century Cuba, and more.

Read more

A group of people in a gallery look at a table with papers on it.
A text document in a plastic sleeve on a black table.
A group of people sit in a library, clapping and smiling.
A botanical illustration of a passion vine with moths.
A man looks closely at a book.
Two people look at an open book.
A group of people stand behind a table looking at books.
An illustration of a horse-drawn chariot.
An illustration of a tobacco factory laborer’s garb and tools.
A large gathering of people in a decorated courtyard at night.
A group of people in a gallery look at a table with papers on it.
A text document in a plastic sleeve on a black table.
A group of people sit in a library, clapping and smiling.
A botanical illustration of a passion vine with moths.
A man looks closely at a book.
Two people look at an open book.
A group of people stand behind a table looking at books.
An illustration of a horse-drawn chariot.
An illustration of a tobacco factory laborer’s garb and tools.
A large gathering of people in a decorated courtyard at night.

A special viewing of “That Which Endures: The Huntington Indenture” for the Library Collectors’ Council, with Sandra Brooke Gordon, Avery Director of the Library. Photo by Jamie Pham. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

“That Which Endures: The Huntington Indenture” presents The Huntington’s original indenture, signed by Henry E. and Arabella D. Huntington. Photo by Jamie Pham. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

For “4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio,” members of the Library Collectors’ Council were shown a presentation by Stephen Tabor, curator of rare books. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

In 2023, the Library Collectors’ Council voted to acquire an illustrated 18th-century scientific volume on the butterflies and moths of Georgia. John Abbot and James Smith, The Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia, 1797–1822. London, T. Bensley for J. Edwards, Cadell and Davies, and J. White, 1797 (but issued in the early 19th century). | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

For “4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio,” a special viewing of Shakespeare’s First Folio was held for the Library Collectors’ Council. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

For “4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio,” a special viewing of Shakespeare’s First Folio was held for members of the Library Collectors’ Council. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

For “4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio,” a special viewing of Shakespeare’s First Folio was held for members of the Library Collectors’ Council. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

In 2023, the Library Collectors’ Council voted to acquire a microscopic manuscript-cum-drawing created for a French princess in the 17th century. Detail of a drawing for Marie Anne Christine, Dauphine of France, possibly done by Pierre Mignard, composed in a microscopic text version of Ignatio Francesco Muligin’s Il Trionfo d’applausi ... (The Triumph of Applause). In Italian, microscopic drawing on paper accompanied by a manuscript on paper. France, ca. 1683–84. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

In 2023, the Library Collectors’ Council voted to acquire an 18th-century album illustrating the royal production of tobacco powder in Spain. Unidentified artist, ca. 1770, Depiction of a laborer’s garb and tools used in a royal Spanish tobacco factory. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

A “4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio” reception for the Library Collectors’ Council. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Join a Collectors’ Council

To join the Art Collectors’ Council, email Sarah Taylor or call 626-405-2225.
To join the Library Collectors’ Council, email Mona Shulman or call 626-405-2244.