Watch, Read, Listen

“Don Bachardy: A Life in Portraits” will feature more than 100 works of art and archival materials spanning over 70 years.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, an obsession spread among bibliophiles for extra-illustrating or grangerizing books. Readers would supplement the pages of an already published book by inserting prints and related materials acquired from other sources. This process would often result in a huge expansion of the original volume.

When Velasco’s painting arrived at The Huntington, a few lines of printed text could be seen at the bottom of the work. Infrared reflectography, a process that can detect layers of detail not visible to the naked eye, has revealed what lies beneath the painting’s surface.

The exhibitions “Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis” and “Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China” trace the dovetailing histories of the relationship between humans and the environment and emphasize the significant role that close observation has played in art, science, and ethics.

What may be the first aerial photographs of Pasadena, captured in 1909, were the product of a risky—almost disastrous—undertaking. When photographer Harold A. Parker was on the balloon American, he took photos of the city from the air. But the journey became harrowing when the balloon flew off course.

Notable speakers from around the world cover diverse topics including succulents of South Africa, Madagascar, and Taiwan, the history of Agaves in the Southwestern United States, an enduring scholarly legacy, and a new campaign against the illegal plant trade.

The Huntington has acquired an ambitious, large-scale masterpiece by 18th-century French portraitist Antoine-François Callet, the official painter of Louis XVI. The work is the fourth in a series of acquisitions made possible by The Ahmanson Foundation.