Videos and Recorded Programs

Letters from Jane Austen’s mother reveal more than just a glimpse into the famous author’s family—they highlight the importance of archives and those who tend to them.

In this lecture video, Madeline Hsu, director of the Center for Migration Studies, discusses the transformative impacts of the 1965 Immigration Act and how the law shifted racial anxieties and hostilities that once targeted Asians toward Mexicans and Latinos as “brown perils.”

Some people assume that the Gutenberg Bible is the oldest printed book at The Huntington. But there’s a much older one that dates back almost 1,000 years ago! Curator Li Wei Yang explores the connections between the printing cultures of China and Europe.

Join Huntington Library staff for an introduction to the creation and care of daguerreotypes, an early photographic process that’s increasingly popular today as an artistic medium.

A portion of the Fielding Wing in The Huntington’s American art galleries showcases a variety of meticulously crafted quilts, made between 1850 and 1900. Here, curator Lauren Cross speaks to the distinctive nature of Amish quilts.

Curator Lauren Cross hosted one of the artists featured in the gallery to discuss the tradition and technique of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers’ Collective and the prints made during their artistic residency at Paulson Fontaine Press in Berkeley, California.

In sitting down with Ford Foundation President Darren Walker for the May 31 “Why It Matters” event, Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence set the stage for a lively conversation.

On May 31, 2023, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker joined Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence in a conversation about the shifting landscape of charitable giving, the role of art in the pursuit of social justice, and the importance of hope to civic engagement.  

Author Lisa See has donated over 300 valuable glass plate negatives and photographs to The Huntington, depicting the vibrant daily life of Los Angeles' Old Chinatown dating back to the late 19th century, and discusses the collection with curator Li Wei Yang.

Five works by Nigerian-born, Los Angeles–based artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby are spotlighted in a series curated by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author and New Yorker magazine critic Hilton Als, in collaboration with the Yale Center for British Art and each artist.

Stephen Blackmore, renowned botanist and chair of Botanic Gardens Conservation International, emphasizes the pivotal role of plants and botanical gardens in addressing the world's environmental challenges, offering practical solutions and highlighting the significant contributions of institutions like The Huntington.

R. Isabela Morales, the 2023 Shapiro Book Prize winner, discusses the significance of writing family history, the challenges of tracing the lives of enslaved people, and the incredible cache of unpublished letters and legal documents that forms the archival core of her book “Happy Dreams of Liberty.”