About the Museum
This elegant museum opened to the public in 1928 as a gift from railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington, and features his distinguished collection of late-18th and early-19th-century British paintings, sculpture and decorative arts, all magnificently displayed within the grandeur of his sprawling mansion. Visitors enjoy a tremendous wealth of attractions, including Thomas Gainsborough’s Blue Boy, Joshua Reynolds’ Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse, John Constable’s View on the Stour near Dedham and J.M.W. Turner’s The Grand Canal. The collection also contains 18th-century continental European art, including works by Jean-Baptiste Greuze and Jean-Antoine Watteau, as well as sculpture, including a major group of works by Clodion and Jean-Antoine Houdon. Italian and Northern Renaissance holdings include Rogier van der Weyden’s Madonna and Child and sculpture, along with spectacular 18th-century French tapestries and furniture. The American art collections include important works by Frederic Church, John Singleton Copley, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and Edward Hopper. Just as spectacular are the grounds, which feature approximately 120 acres of specialised botanical gardens – most notably the Japanese Garden, the Desert Garden and the Chinese Garden.
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