Established | May 18, 1904 |
---|---|
Location | New York City |
Coordinates | 40°50′01″N73°56′47″W / 40.833521°N 73.946514°W |
Type | Art museum Research library |
Collection size | 6,800 paintings 1,000 sculptures 175,000 photographs 250,000 books |
Visitors | 20,000 |
Director | Guillaume Kientz |
Public transit access | Subway: at 157th Street Bus: Bx6, Bx6 SBS, M4, M5, M100 |
Website | Official website |
The Hispanic Society of America operates a museum and reference library for the study of the arts and cultures of Spain and Portugal and their former colonies in Latin America, the Spanish East Indies, and Portuguese India. Despite the name, it has never functioned as a learned society.
Founded in 1904 by philanthropist Archer M. Huntington, the institution continues to operate at its original location in a 1908 Beaux Arts building on Audubon Terrace in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. A second building, on the north side of the terrace, was added in 1930. Exterior sculpture in front of that building includes work by Anna Hyatt Huntington and nine major reliefs by the Swiss-American sculptor Berthold Nebel, a commission that took ten years to complete. The Hispanic Society complex was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2012. In 2021, the museum expanded into the former home of the Museum of the American Indian, adjacent to the museum's original building.
The museum contains more than 18,000 works in every medium, ranging from prehistoric times to the 20th century. The collection includes important paintings by Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Goya, El Greco, and Joaquín Sorolla, among others. It also includes sculpture and architectural elements, furniture and metalwork, ceramics and textiles.
The Sorolla Room, which was reinstalled in 2010, displays Vision of Spain , 14 massive paintings commissioned by Archer Huntington in 1911. Sorolla completed these works from 1913 to 1919. These paintings total more than 200 linear feet (61 m); they ring the large room and depict scenes from the regions of Spain.
The library contains more than 250,000 books; 200,000 documents; 175,000 photographs; and 15,000 prints. The rare books library maintains 15,000 books printed before 1700, including a first edition of Don Quijote. It also holds the manuscript Black Book of Hours, Horae Beatae Virginis Mariae ad usum Romanum (circa 1458), one of only a handful of such works, and the enormous Map of the World (1526) by Juan Vespucio.
The society has been described as "perhaps New York's most misunderstood institution", because it was established to concentrate on Old Spain and its culture in its colonies, as opposed to Hispanic American culture, despite its location in what has over time become a predominantly Hispanic (chiefly Dominican) neighborhood. [1] In 2012 it was suggested that the museum (although not the society) be renamed the "Archer M. Huntington Museum of Art" to clarify this distinction, but the name change was never pursued. [2]
During the late 19th century in America, sentiments towards the country's relationship with Spain were negative. This is mainly due to the fact that during the 16th to 17th centuries, Spain had set its sights on dominating most of North and South America. Therefore, by the 18th century, the United States viewed Spain as an enemy that must be dealt with in order to move forward with American success in North America. During the 19th century, many areas once under Spanish control in North America were added to the territories of the United States. By the turn of the 19th century into the 20th century, Hispanic and Latin American studies became more pronounced in the scholarly world in the United States. Huntington's Hispanic Society of America was one of the leaders in the movement to bring Hispanic art to the attention of scholars in order to introduce the concept that Hispanic art was worthy of study. People started to realize that learning about Hispanic culture was important because it was such a large part of American history. Huntington had the foresight to see how important this kind of museum would be and established the museum in 1904.
Huntington worked diligently in collecting a vast amount of Hispanic art in order to put together the museum. In fact, he did not stop at art. He collected Hispanic heritage items, literature, and around 40,000 books which formed an enormous library used as a resource for scholars who study Hispanic history, literature, art, and culture to this day. Hence, his idea for the institution was not narrowly for showing paintings, sculptures, and historical artifacts, but more widely for it to be used as a center for research and scholarly study.
As for the design of the building, Huntington had a large role in the design and creation of the institution itself. The main building was based on the designs of Huntington's cousin, Charles P. Huntington. Huntington desired Audubon Terrace to become a complex of cultural institutions, which was partially realized. The chosen neoclassical design of the complex was designed to become the reputable institution that the Hispanic Society of America is today. [3]
Between 2007 and 2011, the Dia Art Foundation commissioned several projects at the Hispanic Society's Building on West 155th Street. These commissions were by Francis Alÿs, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, and Koo Jeong A. A weekly event called "Tuesdays on the Terrace" was also organized by Dia over these years presenting public outdoor programing of dance, music, and poetry. [4]
In April 2015 the society announced the appointment of Philippe de Montebello to chair the society's Board of Overseers and spearhead a major effort to roughly double the museum's size by renovating the vacant Beaux Arts building adjacent to the society's original museum building. It was formerly used by the Museum of the American Indian, which had moved years before to the former U.S. Custom House in lower Manhattan. [5]
Beginning January 1, 2017, the museum was closed for extensive renovations, although the library was open on a limited basis by appointment only. The $15 million project replaced the building's roof and lighting. [6] Originally scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2019, progress was delayed, with the new East Building Gallery, formerly the Museum of the American Indian, opening in 2021 for rotating exhibitions, followed by a general reopening in June 2023. [7]
While the museum was closed, many of its works were lent to other institutions. About 200 of the society's most important works were displayed from April through September 2017 at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. [8] The exhibit traveled to the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City from June through September 2018; the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, November 2018 through March 2019; the Cincinnati Art Museum, October 2019 through January 2020; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from March to May 2020. [9] [10]
Admission to the museum has always been free, in accordance with Archer Huntington's trust. Due to financial difficulties, the society went to court in 2016 in order to be allowed to charge an admission fee to temporary exhibitions to be held in the museum's new facility, while keeping the main hall free. [11] As of 2022, admission to the new galleries is free.
In 2020 the museum appointed Guillaume Kientz, former curator at the Louvre and the Kimbell Art Museum, as its new director. [12]
In May 2021, workers at the museum filed their intent to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board, joined local 2110 (the Technical, Office, and Professional Union) of the United Automobile Workers, and began contract negotiations with the museum. In February 2023, the staff sent an open letter containing a list of complaints to the museum's board of trustees. On March 27 the workers authorized a strike in response to the museum's planned reopening. The current contract removed coverage for health insurance premiums and deductibles. The union stated that proposed salary increases would not offset the costs of the loss of benefits and that the administration had left the museum short-staffed and the collection in jeopardy due to a lack of safeguards. The union asked for minimum salaries for union positions on par with other museums in the city, guaranteed future wage increases, a retroactive wage increase, and restoration of health care coverage. [13] [14] [15] On May 19, the workers ended the strike after ratifying a contract with the museum. The two-and-a-half-year contract entailed raised salaries, a 403(b) plan, and preserved fully-paid health benefits. It also established severance pay, and professional development funds. [16]
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The institution was conceived in 1929 by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan. Initially located in the Heckscher Building on Fifth Avenue, it opened just days after the Wall Street Crash. The museum, America's first devoted exclusively to modern art, was led by A. Conger Goodyear as president and Abby Rockefeller as treasurer, with Alfred H. Barr Jr. as its first director. Under Barr's leadership, the museum's collection rapidly expanded, beginning with an inaugural exhibition of works by European modernists. Despite financial challenges, including opposition from John D. Rockefeller Jr., the museum moved to several temporary locations in its early years, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. eventually donated the land for its permanent site.
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United States. In addition to the library, the institution houses an extensive art collection with a focus on 18th and 19th century European art and 17th to mid-20th century American art. The property also has approximately 120 acres (49 ha) of specialized botanical landscaped gardens, including the "Japanese Garden", the "Desert Garden", and the "Chinese Garden".
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Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida was a Spanish painter. Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the bright sunlight of Spain and sunlit water.
Archer Milton Huntington was an American philanthropist and scholar, primarily known for his contributions to the field of Hispanic studies. He founded the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, and made numerous contributions to the American Geographical Society.
The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins, money, medals, tokens, and related objects. Founded in 1858, it is the only American museum devoted exclusively to their preservation and study. Its collection encompasses nearly one million items, including medals and paper money, as well as the world's most comprehensive library of numismatic literature. The current President of the Society, Dr. Ute Wartenberg, served as the Executive Director for two decades and was succeeded in this role by Dr. Gilles Bransbourg.
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Arabella Duval Huntington was an American philanthropist and once known as the richest woman in the country as a result of inheritances she received upon the deaths of her husbands. She was the force behind the art collection that is housed at the Huntington Library in California.
Audubon Terrace, also known as the Audubon Terrace Historic District, is a landmark complex of eight early-20th century Beaux Arts/American Renaissance buildings located on the west side of Broadway, bounded by West 155th and West 156th Streets, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan, New York City, United States. Home to several cultural institutions, the architecturally complementary buildings, which take up most of a city block, are arranged in two parallel rows facing each other across a common plaza. The complex is directly across 155th Street from Trinity Church Cemetery.
Timothy J. Clark is an American artist best known for his large watercolor paintings of urban landscapes, still lifes, and interiors, and for his oil and watercolor portraits. His paintings and drawings are in the permanent collections of more than twenty art museums.
Huntington is the surname of three prominent families from the United States of America. The first was active in the eastern region; the second played an important role in the early Latter Day Saint movement, and pioneered and founded the State of Utah with Brigham Young; the third was active on both coasts and the regions linking them. All three lines descend from Simon Huntington and his wife, Margaret Baret Huntington, who immigrated to America from Norwich, England, in 1633.
William Edward Bloomfield Starkweather was a painter, teacher, and writer, known for impressionist landscape paintings and book illustrations. He is also known for his research and writings on other painters, and was at one time considered "one of the greatest authorities on Goya".
El Cid Campeador is an outdoor equestrian statue depicting the 11-century Spanish knight and warlord El Cid by artist Anna Hyatt Huntington, architect William Templeton Johnson, and the foundry General Bronze Company, installed at Balboa Park's Plaza de Panama in San Diego, California. The bronze sculpture was created in 1927 and dedicated on July 5, 1930.
Beatrice Irene Gilman Proske was an art historian, specifically in Spanish and American sculpture. She was an early employee of the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, with a specialty in sculpture. Her expertise expanded to American sculpture with her work at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, and she died an honorary trustee. Her work also included advising the magazine of the National Sculpture Society. She was the author of preeminent studies on Spanish sculpture and American sculpture.
Elena Sorolla García was an early 20th-century Spanish sculptor and painter. She devoted her youth to sculpture, having a brief career that she left behind to dedicate herself to her family after marrying Victoriano Lorente in 1922. Most of her works are part of private collections, with the exception of some that belong to the Sorolla Museum. She was the youngest daughter of painter Joaquín Sorolla and curator Clotilde García del Castillo.
Elizabeth du Gué Trapier (1893-1974) was an American art historian, born in Washington, D.C., notable for her publications on Spanish art.
Clara Louisa Penney was a curator of manuscripts and rare books for the Hispanic Society of America in New York City.
Vision of Spain, and also known as The Provinces of Spain, is a 1913–19 series of fourteen monumental canvases by Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla depicting the customs, costumes, and traditions of regions of Spain. The series was commissioned by Archie Huntington for the Hispanic Society of America (HSA).
Arthur Byne is a controversial figure in the history of Spanish art and architecture. Members of the Hispanic Society of America, Byne and his wife, Mildred Stapley Byne, published extensively on the art and architecture of Spain and are credited with promoting Spanish culture and its revival in the United States, yet Byne is also known as a plunderer of Spanish buildings and artefacts.
Ruth Matilda Anderson was an American photographer and author, known for her ethnographic photographs and studies of mainly rural life in early 20th-century Spain.
And though its name suggests a connection to the mostly Latino neighborhood it inhabits, the museum primarily celebrates the Old World cultures of Spain and Portugal, not the arts and traditions of the New World lands they colonized. The potential audience just outside the museum's doors has never had much contact with it.