A person looks at framed artwork in a gallery.

Collectors’ Councils

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 councils' 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.

2023 Art Acquisitions Make Connections Across Time, Space, and The Huntington’s Collections

Sept 2023: Spanning more than 450 years, the works come from a diverse group of artists from across the globe, including Edward Mitchell Bannister, Agostino Brunias, Dominique Fung, David Hockney, Letitia Huckaby, Mineo Mizuno, Kenjiro Nomura, Sandy Rodriguez, Betye Saar, Lilly Martin Spencer, Nari Ward, and Qiu Ying. More

A group of people gathered to look closely at a painting.

Art Collectors' Council's members 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, Center for East Asian Garden Studies. Photo by SMG Photography | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Two people stand looking at artwork in a gallery.

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

Three carved wood panels on a wall that form a semicircle.

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.

A group of people smile at each other.

Art Collectors' Council's members 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, Center for East Asian Garden Studies. Photo by SMG Photography | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Two people stand looking at painting on a wall.

2022 Art Collectors' Council's acquisition viewing. Photo by SMG Photography | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Two people stand and talk outdoors.

Reception for "In Conversation with Enrique Martínez Celaya." Photo by Linnea Stephan | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

A painting of a native American leader.

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.

A group of people are gathered in an art gallery.

In our Time: Prints by R.B. Kitaj exhibition tour 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.

Two people sit in chairs in front of artwork in a gallery.

2023 Art Collectors' Council's event featuring 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.

Two people stand looking at painting on a wall.

2022 Art Collectors' Council's acquisition viewing. Photo by SMG Photography. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

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A group of people gathered to look closely at a painting.
Two people stand looking 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 stand looking at painting on a wall.
Two people stand and talk outdoors.
A painting of a native American leader.
A group of people are gathered in an art gallery.
Two people sit in chairs in front of artwork in a gallery.
Two people stand looking at painting on a wall.

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.

2023 Acquisitions of the Library Collectors’ Council

April 2023: Four exceptional collections have joined The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens through the generosity of the Library Collectors’ Council, a group of supporters who help fund the purchase of new items for the institution’s archives. The recent acquisitions include a microscopic manuscript-cum-drawing created for a French princess in the 17th century, an 18th-century album illustrating the royal production of tobacco powder in Spain, an 1810 manuscript account of a United States naval officer’s voyage down the Mississippi River, and an illustrated 18th-century scientific volume on the butterflies and moths of Georgia. More

A group of people in a gallery looking at a table with papers on it.

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

A text document in a plastic sleeve on a black table.

"That Which Endures: The Huntington Indenture"; 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.

Library Collectors Council

"4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio"; Library Collectors' Council members at a presentation by Stephen Tabor, Curator of Rare Books. Photo by SMG Photography | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

A botanical illustration of a passion vine with moths.

 2023 Library Collectors' Council Acquisition. 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.

A man looks closely at a book.

"4x400: 4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio," viewing of Shakespeare's First Folio from The Huntington's Collections. Photo by SMG Photography | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Two people stand looking at an open book.

"4x400: 4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio," viewing of Shakespeare's First Folio from The Huntington's Collections. Photo by SMG Photography | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

A group of people stand behind a table looking at books.

"4x400: 4x400: A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio"; Library Collectors' Council. Photo by SMG Photography | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

An illustration of a horse-drawn chariot.

2023 Library Collectors' Council Acquisition. 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.

An illustration of mining gear.

2023 Library Collectors' Council Acquisition. 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 large gathering of people in a decorated courtyard at nighttime.

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

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A group of people in a gallery looking at a table with papers on it.
A text document in a plastic sleeve on a black table.
Library Collectors Council
A botanical illustration of a passion vine with moths.
A man looks closely at a book.
Two people stand looking 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 mining gear.
A large gathering of people in a decorated courtyard at nighttime.

Join a Collectors’ Council

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