Exhibition

Nineteen Nineteen

Sep. 21, 2019–Jan. 20, 2020 | This Centennial exhibition examines The Huntington as an institution through its founding during the tumultuous year of 1919 with objects drawn from its library and art collections.
Howard Chandler Christy (1873–1952), Americans All! Victory Liberty Loan, 1919. Lithograph, Boston: Forbes, 29 15/16 x 19 7/8 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Howard Chandler Christy (1873–1952), Americans All! Victory Liberty Loan, 1919. Lithograph, Boston: Forbes, 29 15/16 x 19 7/8 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

George R. Watson, Portrait of Henry E. Huntington on Loggia of San Marino Residence, April 1919; printed 1927. Gelatin silver print, 22 x 18 3/4 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

George R. Watson, Portrait of Henry E. Huntington on Loggia of San Marino Residence, April 1919; printed 1927. Gelatin silver print, 22 x 18 3/4 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

National Woman’s Party members demonstrating in front of the Lafayette statue, Washington, D.C., on September 16, 1918, photo reproduced in Jailed for Freedom: 1919 Prison Special Edition of The Suffragist, 1919. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

National Woman's Party members demonstrating in front of the Lafayette statue, Washington, D.C., on September 16, 1918, photo reproduced in Jailed for Freedom: 1919 Prison Special Edition of The Suffragist, 1919. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Edith Sitwell (1887–1964), editor; William Roberts (1895–1980), illustrator, Wheels, 1919, 1919. Oxford: B. H. Blackwell. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Edith Sitwell (1887–1964), editor; William Roberts (1895–1980), illustrator, Wheels, 1919, 1919. Oxford: B. H. Blackwell. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

International Film Service and Western Newspaper Union, photographs from William Allison Sweeney (1851–1921), History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe, 1919. Chicago: Cuneo-Henneberry. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

International Film Service and Western Newspaper Union, photographs from William Allison Sweeney (1851–1921), History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe, 1919. Chicago: Cuneo-Henneberry. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

G. Haven Bishop (1879–1972), Edison Lamp Display, 1919. Gelatin silver print, 10 15/16 x 9 3/16 in. Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

G. Haven Bishop (1879–1972), Edison Lamp Display, 1919. Gelatin silver print, 10 15/16 x 9 3/16 in. Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

1
Howard Chandler Christy (1873–1952), Americans All! Victory Liberty Loan, 1919. Lithograph, Boston: Forbes, 29 15/16 x 19 7/8 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
George R. Watson, Portrait of Henry E. Huntington on Loggia of San Marino Residence, April 1919; printed 1927. Gelatin silver print, 22 x 18 3/4 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
National Woman’s Party members demonstrating in front of the Lafayette statue, Washington, D.C., on September 16, 1918, photo reproduced in Jailed for Freedom: 1919 Prison Special Edition of The Suffragist, 1919. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Edith Sitwell (1887–1964), editor; William Roberts (1895–1980), illustrator, Wheels, 1919, 1919. Oxford: B. H. Blackwell. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
International Film Service and Western Newspaper Union, photographs from William Allison Sweeney (1851–1921), History of the American Negro in the Great World War: His Splendid Record in the Battle Zones of Europe, 1919. Chicago: Cuneo-Henneberry. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
G. Haven Bishop (1879–1972), Edison Lamp Display, 1919. Gelatin silver print, 10 15/16 x 9 3/16 in. Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

The Huntington's Centennial Celebration kicks off with "Nineteen Nineteen," a major exhibition that examines the institution and its founding through the prism of a single, tumultuous year, with a display of more than 250 objects drawn from The Huntington's library and art collections. In 1919, as Henry and Arabella Huntington signed the trust document that would transform their property into a public institution, the United States roiled in the aftermath of World War I. Organized around themes defined by the verbs "Fight," "Return," "Map," "Move," and "Build," the exhibition showcases items that embody an era in flux. Rare books, posters, letters, photographs, diaries, paintings, sculpture, and ephemera will be on view. Highlights include representative items from 1919, such as a 37-foot map of a Pacific Electric (Red Car) route in Los Angeles, astronomical photographs of the moon and constellations, German Revolution posters, and suffragist pamphlets, alongside important works acquired by Henry E. Huntington in the lead-up to that year, including the original manuscript of Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, the journal of Aaron Burr, and the memoirs of Gen. William T. Sherman.

Exhibition Catalog

Nineteen Nineteen, a 260-page, richly illustrated book by James Glisson and Jennifer A. Watts. Available in store and online.

Nineteen Nineteen exhibition catalog

Spotify Playlist

Spotify

A musical companion to the exhibition that features an eclectic mix of music from the year 1919. (A free Spotify account is required to access playlist)