by Emily M. Orr, Associate Curator and Acting Head, Product Design and Decorative Arts The American artist George Rickey (1907-2002) 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...
by Stephen Van Dyk, Librarian Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution In commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, we honor donors such as Robert Winthrop Chanler whose collection greatly enhanced the diversity, depth, and richness of the museum’s rare book library. Chanler, a friend of founders Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt, willed his collection...
by Julia Siemon, Assistant Curator Cooper Hewitt recently launched the “Stradanus Sketchbook Project,” a multi-year initiative supported by a major grant from the J. Paul Getty Foundation. This ambitious project centers on the work of Johannes Stradanus (Netherlandish, 1523–1605), a principal artist at the Medici court in Renaissance Florence, who was also a prolific and...
by Elaine Gerstein, Cooper Hewitt Design Guide As we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, it is interesting to note that before the museum opened in 1976, the Carnegie Mansion had an amazing history of its own. The mansion was built from 1899–1902 for Andrew Carnegie, said to be at...
