Huntington Museum of Art

For The Huntington Museum, Art Collections, Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California see The Huntington Library.

Huntington Museum of Art

Location within West Virginia
Established	1947; opened 1952
Location	2033 McCoy Road Huntington, West Virginia
Coordinates	38.393036°N 82.434411°W / 38.393036; -82.434411
Type	Art museum
Visitors	50,000+ annually
Director	Geoffrey K. Fleming
Curator	Chris Hatten
Website	hmoa.org

The Huntington Museum of Art is a nationally accredited art museum located in the Park Hills neighborhood above Ritter Park in Huntington, West Virginia. Housed on over 50 acres of land and occupying almost 60,000 square feet, it is the largest art museum in the state of West Virginia. The museum's campus is home to extensive nature trails and the C. Fred Edwards Conservatory, the only subtropical and tropical plant conservatory in the region. The museum's collection includes American and European paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings, as well as glass pieces manufactured in West Virginia and the Ohio Valley, American folk art, Chinese and Japanese decorative objects, Haitian art, firearms, and decorative arts from the Near East. In addition to its permanent collections, the museum hosts traveling exhibitions and houses the James D. Francis Art Research Library, the Grace Rardin Doherty Auditorium, and five art studios where artists in residence are periodically hosted and classes are held. The Huntington Museum of Art holds the largest, finest and most varied collection of art in the state of West Virginia.

History

The Huntington Museum of Art was organized in 1947 and officially opened on November 9, 1952 under the name The Huntington Galleries. The institution was renamed the Huntington Museum of Art in 1987. The original building was constructed on a 52-acre plot donated by Herbert Fitzpatrick who also donated his personal art collection to begin the museum’s collection. This donation of more than 400 objects included a mixture of fine arts and decorative arts, among which were paintings and prints, sculptures, British silver, rugs, and Asian decorative objects. Also on display during the opening of the museum was the Dean Firearms Collection, then loaned to the museum by Herman Dean, a member of the first board of the museum. The collection was later gifted to the museum and is now on permanent display.

In the mid-1960s the museum was enlarged through a gift from the Henry L. and Grace Rardin Doherty Foundation, which included construction of the Grace Rardin Doherty Auditorium, the Francis Art Library, large new galleries and a second building containing three studios. All of this work was designed by famed architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius, and his firm The Architects Collaborative. Through the efforts of the Rardin Foundation, two more studios would be added in the mid-1970s and in the mid-1990s a new gallery was added to house the Near Eastern collection donated by the Touma Family (and others). At the same time, the C. Fred Edwards Conservatory was added to the museum through the gift of local philanthropist, Joan C. Edwards, and additional office space was created.

The Walter Gropius Master Artist Program

The Walter Gropius Master Artist Program is the primary visiting artist program at the Huntington Museum of Art. The first Walter Gropius Master Artist, painter Robert Cottingham, came to the Huntington Museum of Art (HMA) in 1992, thanks to generous funding from the Estate of Roxanna Y. Booth, who supported the development of an art education program following the ideals of Walter Gropius. Mrs. Booth’s son, Alex Booth, contributed significantly to the concept development of the Walter Gropius Master Artist Program. As part of each Master Artist’s visit, HMA presents an exhibition of the work of the Master Artist, allowing the public an opportunity to engage with the work and be inspired by it. The artist delivers a lecture regarding their work and creative process which is open to the public, providing a chance for those who cannot participate in the hands-on studio workshop to learn more about each Master Artist.

The workshop itself is held for pre-registered attendees, many of whom are working or emerging artists with some degree of professional experience. By structuring the Walter Gropius Master Artist Program in this way, HMA maximizes the impact of the visiting artist, providing varying levels of access and engagement tailored to the needs of each audience. The Walter Gropius Master Artist Program not only serves the general public, creating ripples of influence and adding new threads of creativity to the cultural fabric of the region, but also specifically serves as an economic and professional development tool for local artists who are able to hone their skills and create new works under the guidance of established artists.

After nearly three decades, the Walter Gropius Master Artist Program has hosted over 120 artists working in various media. Painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, assemblage, drawing, digital photography, quilting, and papermaking have all been presented through the Walter Gropius Master Artist Program. Artists specializing in less common artistic forms, such as egg tempura painting, painting on stained glass, and large-scale ceramic installations, have been selected as Walter Gropius Master Artists, bringing unique perspectives and talents to the Tri-State area.

Interior view - Huntington Museum of Art

Collections

The Huntington Museum of Art's collection encompasses nearly 17,000 artworks, making it by far the largest collection of art in the state. The greatest portion of these works were donated to the museum by West Virginia residents and collectors, all of whom understood the need for a high-caliber art collection to be located in the state. Herbert Fitzpatrick, Herman Dean, Wilbur Myers and Ruth and Arthur Dayton were among its largest singular donors, each presenting the museum with hundreds of gifts during their lifetimes. In addition to gifts, the museum has deliberately sought out additional works to enhance the collection through strategic purchases made possible through the establishment of endowments by the artists Sarah and Harold Wheeler, former docent Donald Harper and others.

American Art

The American Art collection comprises a variety of artworks ranging from paintings, prints, and sculpture to decorative arts and folk art. Much of the original holdings in this area were formed by Herbert Fitzpatrick and later enhanced through gifts from The Daywood Collection (see below). The impressive folk art collection was primarily built through the efforts of former museum curator, Eason Eige, who scoured the American south for outstanding examples to add to the museum's collection, including the self-portrait bust by the noted New York State sculptor, Asa Ames. Works by artists such as Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, John Singer Sargent, Andy Warhol, and Andrew Wyeth are included in the collection.

Asian Art

Created by the donation of Asian decorative objects by Herbert Fitzpatrick when the museum first opened, the collection of Asian Art has grown to include prints, paintings, sculpture, and textiles. Since the time of the original gift, the holdings in this area have been grown through gifts from the late West Virginia collectors William Warner Jones (Huntington) and Charles Burkart (Morgantown), whose 400-piece collection of modern and contemporary Japanese prints was left to the museum in 2019.

European Art

The European Art Collection comprises a variety of artworks ranging from paintings, prints, and drawings to sculpture and decorative arts. Much of the original holdings in this area were formed by Herbert Fitzpatrick and later enhanced through gifts made by local and regional collectors. The collection of British silver presented by Fitzpatrick is a highlight of the museum's holdings, and includes many pieces made for important members of the British aristocracy, including the Dukes of Ormonde. Works by artists such as Georges Braque, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean Francois Millet, Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir are included in the collection.

Glass Gallery - Huntington Museum of Art

Glass Collection

The museum’s glass collection is its largest collection with more than 4,000 objects ranging in date from ancient to contemporary and exhibits the work and artistry of many glass companies, with a special focus on glass of the mid-Western/Ohio Valley. A selection of the collection is on permanent view in the Glass and Decorative Arts Gallery. A significant addition to the collection is a large Dale Chihuly tower that is located in the C. Fred Edwards Conservatory. The Wilbur Myers Glass Collection (below) also forms part of this collection.

Inuit Art and Sculpture

The small collection of Inuit art was assembled in the early 1950s by firearms collector Herman Dean during hunting expeditions in Alaska. Dean would meet with the artists personally during his trips and formed a holding that largely consists of figural sculptures. An important collection of documentary photographs of these trips is held in the Dean Papers at the Huntington Museum of Art.

The Daywood Collection

The Daywood Collection was given to the Huntington Museum of Art beginning in the late 1960s by Ruth Woods Dayton, which added almost 400 works of art to the museum’s existing collection. The Daywood Collection has a strong emphasis on late 19th and early 20th century American art with a focus on American Impressionism, but also includes a number of important pieces by European artists. Mrs. Dayton wished for the collection to remain in West Virginia to benefit the people of the state. Before the Walter Gropius addition to the museum was completed, the majority of the collection was given to the museum where it could be appropriately housed and exhibited.

The Herman P. Dean Firearms Collection

The Herman P. Dean Firearms Collection

Herman Dean’s collection of firearms includes a wide variety of historical objects from the earliest designed hand cannon up to weapons of the mid-19th century, with special focuses on the development of firing mechanisms and weapons of the American frontier, including the Kentucky Rifle. The collection of 212 firearms (not including the many associated accoutrements) is the third largest display on permanent exhibition in the United States.

Dish with vines and grapes, Turkey, Iznik, 17th century, Touma Collection

The Touma Near Eastern Collection

Largely consisting of works donated to the museum by Drs. Omayma and Joseph B. Touma, the Touma Near Eastern Collection contains more than 400 works of art in a wide range of media and type, including weaponry, ceramics, glass, paintings, and scientific instruments. The collection is housed in the Touma Near Eastern Gallery which was completed in 1996 and was designed with the help of the Toumas to create a cultural context for the collection. In addition to the gifts made by the Touma family, the collection also includes an important holding of late 18th to late 19th century prayer rugs collected by Herbert Fitzpatrick and others.

The Wilbur Myers Glass Collection

Local collector Wilbur Myers had a penchant for acquiring and collecting incredible glass objects made primarily during the Victorian era (1837 - 1901). Among the hundreds of vases, ewers, bowls, cups and other decorative glass objects are pieces that exude the period in which they were made. From strange and unusual shapes to forms covered with lavish amounts of enameling, gilding, piercing and other forms of surface decoration, there are few other groups of objects at the museum as visually stimulating as his treasures.

The Winslow Anderson Collection of Haitian Art

Winslow Anderson (1917 – 2007) was a noted artist, painter, ceramicist and glass designer from Plymouth, Massachusetts. A graduate of Alfred University's School of Ceramics, Anderson was a leading glass designer for the Blenko Glass Company of West Virginia (1946-1953). He was a resident of Milton, West Virginia and beginning in 1948 he traveled regularly to the Republic of Haiti, where he sought out the work of local painters who had only begun to be recognized for their work. His collection of Haitian artwork was first placed on long-term loan at the museum in 1981 and has been added to regularly through funding left to the museum by Anderson. Today, it is one of the finest of its type in the United States.

Living Collections

C. Fred Edwards Conservatory

C. Fred Edwards Conservatory

C. Fred Edwards Conservatory

The C. Fred Edwards Conservatory was opened in 1996 and was the gift of local philanthropist, Joan C. Edwards. It is the only tropical and subtropical plant conservatory in West Virginia and the tri-state region. In addition to plants, the conservatory features many animals, including koi (colored varieties of the Amur carp), poison dart frogs, axolotls and a saltwater aquarium featuring various types of corals and other aquatic animals. The plants featured in the conservatory fall under four primary categories: Orchids, Agriculturally Important, Fragrant, and Unusual.

• Orchids – The orchid collection includes dozens of varieties, some of which have been specially bred by the museum.
• Agriculturally Important – The plants classified as agriculturally important are ones that are eaten or used in some way. Examples are cashew, chocolate, banana, papaya, sugar cane, and coffee.
• Fragrant – Fragrant plants are those that characteristically give off strong aromas, such as the cadaver plant.
• Unusual – The collection of unusual plants refers to plants that are not commonly known to us in our daily lives such as the pitcher plant, the turtle plant, and the sensitive plant.

Hiking Trails

The Museum's property includes more than 40 acres of hillside that is retained in its natural woodland state. This is where you'll find our nature trail – a well-marked, maintained trail approximately one mile in length. The trail has a variety of inclines, from nearly flat to gently sloping to steep. Along several of the paths are sculptures by the West Virginia sculptor, Earl Gary.

Archaeological Collections

In addition to the art collections, two important Native-American archaeological collections are held at the museum. These collections were excavated in West Virginia during the 1920s and 1930s and include pottery shards and other cultural artifacts. The vast majority of the items contained in these collections are not exhibited and are available for viewing only by approved, academic researchers.

Gallery of Images

• 
  Childe Hassam, Lincoln's Birthday Flags - 1918, 1918
• 
  Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Young Woman in a Landscape, c. 1915-1919
• 
  Julien Dupre, The Harvester, c. 1880-1881
• 
  Gari Melchers, Snow Scene, after 1916
• 
  Frank Benson, The Watcher, 1921

External links

• Huntington Museum of Art official site