The Huntington is marking its 107th anniversary with a new Verso post that revisits Arabella Huntington’s role in establishing the institution and developing its collections. According to the museum’s August 4 newsletter, the feature was written by Sabina Zonno, assistant curator of special projects, European art, and focuses on Arabella Huntington’s influence on The Huntington’s art holdings and on the history of American museums.
The newsletter describes Arabella Huntington as one of the great collectors of the Gilded Age and credits her decisions with helping shape The Huntington’s art collections. The anniversary post frames her as an essential figure in the institution’s founding story, linking personal collecting choices to the early development of one of Southern California’s major cultural organizations. The Huntington’s own account positions the story as part of a broader founders’ feature, underscoring the way the institution continues to revisit its origins through curatorial research and digital publishing.
The new post appears under The Huntington’s Verso platform, where the institution publishes essays and features on art, library, and garden topics. In this case, the subject is historical rather than exhibition-based: a reassessment of Arabella Huntington’s place in the museum’s formation and collection history. The museum’s newsletter gives no additional biographical details beyond her standing as a major Gilded Age collector and her role in shaping the institution’s holdings.
The Huntington’s anniversary note comes alongside a busy summer program that includes exhibitions, garden activities, and talks, but the Arabella Huntington feature is presented separately as a founders’ story. That separation reinforces its focus on institutional history rather than a temporary display or event. The newsletter places the essay at the top of its “Founders’ Story” section, before listing family programs, exhibitions, and upcoming events elsewhere in the campus schedule.
The broader institutional context in the same newsletter shows The Huntington continuing to balance its historical collections with newer interpretation and public programming. Among the exhibitions currently listed is Mercedes Dorame’s ‘Deliquescence: Sites of Transformation’ in the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art, described as a large-scale installation informed by archival research, historical images of regional freshwater springs, and sculptural and painted elements. The institution also lists ongoing exhibitions and projects across its art and library departments.
For the anniversary feature, however, the emphasis is squarely on Arabella Huntington’s legacy as a collector and on the museum’s own history. The newsletter points readers to the new Verso post by Sabina Zonno as part of The Huntington’s 107th-anniversary coverage, situating Arabella Huntington as a figure whose choices continue to define the institution’s art collection and its place in American museum history.
