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Left: California juniper (Juniperus californica), moyogi or informal upright style bonsai, estimated age of original plant material: 1,000 years. Collected from Jawbone Canyon, Mojave Desert, in 2002, grafted in 2006, and styled by Tak Shimazu, displayed in Keizan Tokoname pot from Japan, donated by the Bergstein Family. Photo by Andrew Mitchell. Right: Mark Catesby, Bull Frog (Rana maxima), Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, 1743. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Exhibition
Lifelines/Timelines: Exploring The Huntington’s Collections Through Bonsai
14 Mar 2020 – 15 Jun 2020
Regular hours
- Saturday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Sunday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Monday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Wednesday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Thursday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Friday
- 10:00 – 17:00
Address
- 1151 Oxford Road
- San Marino
California - 91108
- United States
Installations at five gallery entrances: Mapel Orientation Gallery, Library Main Hall, Dibner Hall of the History of Science, Huntington Art Gallery, and Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art
About
How do five venerable bonsai trees relate in age and historical significance to important works in The Huntington's library and art collections? With an interdisciplinary approach that only The Huntington could offer, "Lifelines/Timelines" explores the march of time by comparing the age of selected California juniper bonsai alongside benchmarks in the institution's 100-year history, and with significant pieces on view in the library and art galleries. Lines in the grain of natural deadwood sections of these bonsai can be used to calculate the tree's age, much like the rings in a cross-section. Which line of a tree's growth corresponds to the publication of Shakespeare's First Folio in 1623? How does its age relate to the creation of Thomas Gainsborough's masterpiece, The Blue Boy, painted ca. 1770? Each of the exhibition's five bonsai installations, located at gallery entrances, include an illustrated timeline, interactive elements geared toward children, and other interpretive materials, offering an entirely new perspective on The Huntington's holdings.
