Saturday, August 3, 2013

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 :)


17 comments:

  1. I found you on Twigg. I recognized the photo of the Huntington. I really enjoyed the museum. I never thought I would see Pinkie & Blue Boy. We had tea there. It is just a wonderful outing. I have a photo almost identical to the pagoda. I really need to go back again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! Thank you for your comment. I too, never thought I would see Pinkie and Blue Boy. It's really an amazing place and I hope you get to visit it again soon. Take care :)

      Delete
  2. What a lovely looking place to visit. Your antique drawings are so detailed, what a great thing to have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much. I was lucky to remember where I had stored the drawings!! Have a great day!

      Delete
  3. Shame I'm not a bit nearer! It looks like a wonderful place to visit and such beautiful gardens too. You could have been in Devon,UK with those scones and cream. Over here we call it a 'cream tea' - scones, jam, clotted cream and a pot of tea. Mmm... I can taste it now :) Glad you had such a wonderful day :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Greetings. You have the most beautiful gardens in your country. I am excited to have a proper tea when I visit the UK this fall - I can hardly wait. Thank you for stopping by.

      Delete
  4. It looks such an amazing place, so many beautiful things to see, thank you for sharing your photographs. I love the story of your great grandfather, his drawings are a lovely way to keep a bit of your family history.

    Jan x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jan, thank you for your comments. My great grandfather's drawings were an after thought that I thought would be interesting. I hope your week is going well!

      Delete
  5. What an amazing place. It looks like you all have a great time. The afternoon tea looks yummy.

    Lovely story about your great grandfather xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Gertie. I hope you are feeling better and having a wonderful week.

      Delete
  6. What a beautiful building, the Japanese garden looks so lovely. the botanical drawings are lovely, I always think they looks so much better than photographs as they are so detailed. Hope you have a good week.

    Jill
    christmaspiecrafts.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jill, it was a fun day we enjoyed. I always enjoy old, historical places. I wish you a wonderful week.

      Delete
  7. Beautiful photos, thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a beautiful place to visit and your great grandfather was a wonderful artist! Thanks for sharing.
    Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow - what a gorgeous place to visit - you lucky things! And how fantastic to have some of the drawings your grandfather did :-) Simmi x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mom, I've never seen those drawing or that photo! We need to have them matted and framed to protect them! You took great photos at the Huntington!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a lovely day out. I would love a library like that and hot scones for after, my sort of visit!

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment!