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 tangle of hands, legs, arms, trays, vases, French brie, and baguettes.

Dominique Fung (Canadian, b. 1987), Sans Les Mains, 2022, oil on canvas. Purchased with funds from Dominic and Ellen Ng. © Dominique Fung, 2022, courtesy of Jeffrey Deitch Gallery and Nicodim Gallery. | 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.

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

Marie Anne Christine on a horse-drawn carriage with the assistance of cherubs.

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.

Join a Collectors’ Council

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