Cynthia E. Smith, Curator of Socially Responsible Design, shares insights into her research for Designing Peace and how her work is emblematic of the museum’s longstanding interest in the powerful role design can play on the world stage. We’re grateful for the efforts of so many people whose dedication and commitment has brought this compelling...

Enjoy this illustrated excerpt tracing the history of the museum’s founding and learn a little more about Eleanor Hewitt’s green thumb. For more Hewitt sisters collection objects and history, be sure to visit Sarah & Eleanor Hewitt: Designing a Modern Museum  on view now! Excerpt, Moments of Innovation: A History of Smithsonian Illustrations by Evan...

Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt often hosted parties for friends and charitable events and today they need your help during your visit to the mansion! In anticipation of your visit, their grandfather, Peter J. Cooper, gave them a list of six clues to find garden-related objects across Duro Olowu Selects (Selects gallery, first floor) and Botanical...

by Emily M. Orr, Associate Curator and Acting Head, Product Design and Decorative Arts The American artist George Rickey (1907-2022) made his reputation with monumental yet minimalist masterpieces of kinetic sculpture that enliven outdoor spaces around the world, most recently New York City’s Park Avenue. Rickey created energetic spirals, “space churns” (fig. 1), clusters of...

Maria Nicanor, an architecture and design historian and curator, is the new director of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Nicanor brings a rich background in architecture and design to the role and has an established career in museum and curatorial work, having held positions at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Victoria & Albert...

by Merit Myers, Membership Coordinator Surrounded by colorful blossoms and birds singing to the neighborhood, I write to you from my favorite bench on the north western edge of the museum’s Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden. Sitting here, I enjoy a kind of outdoor exhibition — one that changes its colors and activities as the...

Sarah (1859–1930) and Eleanor (1864–1924) Hewitt were pioneers in the field of design education who established what is known today as Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Growing up, Sarah and Eleanor were immersed in a world of art and books, and the family traveled to Europe every year. Their insatiable curiosity led them to buy...

Matilda McQuaid, Acting Director of Curatorial Cooper Hewitt celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2022.  This extraordinary milestone will be marked by the exhibition, Sarah & Eleanor Hewitt: Designing a Modern Museum, which honors our founders and their remarkable roles as collectors, philanthropists, and educators. The Hewitt sisters’ aspirations provide the foundation for our mission today—to...

Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt, the sisters who established the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration in 1897 and granddaughters of famed industrialist Peter Cooper, used their considerable means and impressive intelligence to amass a collection comprised of centuries of furniture, textiles, drawings, wallcoverings, and more—the basis of the collection now housed at Cooper...