The Huntington Library in San Marino - Art, Tea and Gardens

Hello my friends.  It's been a fun week here at Lilly My Cat.  This week my daughter took me to visit  The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.  It was less than an hour's drive from our home here in South Orange County.  The first of each month they offer free tickets to the grounds and exhibits.  So, off we went on Thursday for a wonderful day of sightseeing.

We started our tour with the Huntington Art Gallery which features European art.  It has one of the most distinguished collections of 18th and 19th century British paintings outside of London.  We were able to view Pinkie by Thomas Lawrence and The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough.  (I was familiar with these paintings because I used to have two china plates displaying their images) The art collection is housed in the home Henry Huntington had built as his residence in 1911.  He lived in this home until his death in 1927 and it became a museum for his collection in 1930.

 

This is a photo of Mr. Huntington's personal library.  It has numerous books along with fine, French antique furniture.  There was an exhibit of portrait miniatures and also of fine snuff boxes.  I felt like I was watching the Antique Road Show!

 

Henry Huntington made his money in the railroad.  He bought the San Marino Ranch in 1903.  It now comprises 207 acres of which there are numerous buildings and many gardens.

 

We were fortunate to have tea reservations at the tea room at the gardens.  They served a lovely tea buffet along with hot scones.

 After enjoying tea, we made out way through the rose garden to the Japanese garden.

 

After touring the Japanese gardens, we made out way over to the lilly pond which was truly amazing.

My little grandson, really thought it was fun going through all the garden paths and discovering lots of exciting sites.

 

There is so much to see that we could have spent the whole day there exploring the different exhibits and gardens.  There are numerous gardens along with various art galleries.  

At the European Art exhibit, we saw a Guttenberg Bible from 1450-1455.  Mr. Huntington bought this copy in 1911 for $50,000 and it is one of seven surviving copies printed on vellum.

It was such a fun day and to know that this little taste of Europe's finest is so near to where I reside. If you are in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend a visit to The Huntington.  

As a footnote, we saw some wonderful antique botanical pen and ink drawings in an exhibit there at the library's west hall.  I told my daughter that I have some drawings like this that my great grandfather did.  Here are the photos of my antique botanical drawings:

And, here's a photo of my great grandfather, Daniel Wyatt Gibbons who was the artist:

My great grandfather was born in 1860 in Chillicothe, Missouri and died in 1919.  He was an attorney and a botanist.  

That's about all I have to share for today.  I hope each of you have a wonderful week and please remember to stop by Handmade Monday and see lots of wonderful creative ideas.

blessings,

Pat :)