The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry Edwards Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California. Henry Huntington (1850–1927) played a major role in the growth of Southern California. Huntington was the nephew and heir of Collis P. Huntington (1821–1900), one of the famous "Big Four" railroad tycoons of nineteenth century California history. The story of Huntington and his uncle remind me of the series The Gilded Age.
We had an hour and a half plus tour. The tour wandered through the Chinese, Japanese and Rose gardens and outside of the principal buildings. The guide [Bill] was knowledgeable, but not very polished. The tour group started with fifteen people. By the time that we got to the end, there were only five of us left!?!
After the tour, we walked through the European Art Museum in what was originally the main residence. The European collection includes The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. There were quite a few paintings by Gainsborough. I also liked Breakfast in Bed by Mary Cassatt and a painting of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart.
We had an early lunch at the 1919 Cafe. I had a chopped salad, while Sharon had tacos.
After lunch, we wandered through the American Art Galley and a special exhibit of Sargent Claude Johnson. I was fascinated by a video of a mural that he made for George Washington High School in San Francisco. I may try to hunt it down in the future. We also explored the Conservatory.
After dropping our jackets and getting some water, I dragged Sharon through most of the rest of the gardens, including the jungle, lily pads, desert, Australian and subtropical. I was most impressed by the desert garden. It was a long day. We ended up spending almost six hours at The Huntington.
After a drink in the Tap Room at the hotel, we finished the day with dinner at the Royce Restaurant. We split an interesting Wedge Salad [grilled iceberg lettuce and radicchio, candied bacon, black garlic ranch dressing]. For entrees, Sharon had a filet mignon, while I had a New York steak.
With an early morning and a long day of driving planned for Sunday, we crashed early.
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