Verso

At the dedication of The Huntington's Munger Research Center in 2004, California historian Kevin Starr (1940–2017), who died in January, said, "Southern California contemplates itself, defines itself, brings itself to further identity through a variety of agencies and instruments

Last Thursday, we let art historian James Fishburne—guest curator of "A History of Whiskers: Facial Hair and Identity in European and American Art, 1750–1920"—run The Huntington's Instagram account for the day. In a nod to the exhibition, which is on view for just one more week, James spent the day looking at facial hair in our art galleries, touring us through "Shenandoahs," "chin curtains," and mustachioed teapots.

One of the most iconic images of California is the coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia). With its rugged trunk, twisting branches, and broad canopy, it adds both power and grace to our native landscape. We're fortunate to have more than 200 coast live oaks on The Huntington property. We also have a very small and special one that expresses the iconographic qualities we associate with our native oaks.

By the time of his death on Feb. 20, 1895, Frederick Douglass had become one of the most celebrated personalities in the United States. Born a slave in Maryland around 1818, he escaped to New York in 1838

Even if you missed the chance last week to participate in #ColorOurCollections, a coloring extravaganza organized by The New York Academy of Medicine Library, there's still time to join in the fun.

Home to gorgeous gardens, spectacular art, and stunning rare books and manuscripts, The Huntington also offers an impressive slate of lectures and conferences on topics and themes related to its collections. Featured are audio recordings of five recent lectures and conversations.

The eastern side of the North Vista contains some of The Huntington's oldest and most precious cultivars of camellia. William Hertrich, Henry Huntington's superintendent of the gardens from 1903 to 1948, had a passion for the flowering plant

At daybreak on a steamy morning last August, my husband dropped me off at the Kalaupapa trailhead on the north shore of Molokai and waved goodbye.