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Originally founded by Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt at the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration in 1897, Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection has come together through “a wonderful series of happenings” (Eleanor G. Hewitt, The Making of a Modern Museum, 1919). Cooper Hewitt Short Stories highlights important acquisitions to the collection, as well as key figures that contributed these gifts and shaped the museum’s development. Building on the research and storytelling of the blog series Meet the Hewitts, Short Stories reveals the vibrant social circle that enriched Cooper Hewitt’s collection.

Cooper Hewitt Short Stories: Alexander Drake
Last month in Cooper Hewitt Short Stories, Dr. Gail Davidson wrote about how American drawings by Winslow Homer, Frederic Church, and Thomas Moran entered the museum’s collection. February’s Short Story twitters romance! A passionate collector pursued beautiful homes for birds. Enamored, Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt bought his birdcages for their museum. Chirp! #HewittSisters Margery Masinter,...
Cooper Hewitt Short Stories: American Drawings Story
Last month in Cooper Hewitt Short Stories, we explored a world of textiles encapsulated in a generous gift to Cooper Union by J.P. Morgan. In January’s short story, written by Gail Davidson, former Curator and Head of Drawings, Prints & Graphic Design at Cooper Hewitt, the work of three important American artists come together to...
Cooper Hewitt Short Stories: A Gift from J.P. Morgan
Last month in Cooper Hewitt Short Stories, we galloped through Sarah’s equestrian passion. In November’s short story, written by Matilda McQuaid, Deputy Curatorial Director and Head of Textiles at Cooper Hewitt, the sisters receive an important gift to their museum’s collection from family friend, J.P. Morgan. Margery Masinter, Trustee, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Sue...
Cooper Hewitt Short Stories: Sarah Hewitt’s Other Passion
Two years ago, we launched a series of monthly blogs titled “Meet the Hewitts” in order to provide a social history of the Cooper Union Museum and its founders—sisters Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt—from 1859 to Sarah Hewitt’s death in 1930. We are supplementing that history with “Cooper Hewitt Short Stories,” brief observations about the Hewitt...
Cooper Hewitt Short Stories: Best Friends
Two years ago, we launched a series of monthly blogs titled “Meet the Hewitts” in order to provide a social history of the Cooper Union Museum and its founders—sisters Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt—from 1859 to Sarah Hewitt’s death in 1930. We are supplementing that history with “Cooper Hewitt Short Stories,” brief observations about prominent figures...