Cooper Hewitt

Cooper Hewitt
Name	Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Established	1897
Location	2 East 91st Street, New York City
Type	Design museum
Director	Marla Glassman
Website	Official site

Cooper Hewitt. The museum is a New York-based institution dedicated to historical and contemporary design and decorative arts, situated on the Upper East Side of Manhattan near the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Carnegie Mansion. Founded from the collections of industrialist Peter Cooper and the Hewitt sisters Sarah Hewitt and Eleanor Hewitt, the institution became part of the Smithsonian Institution network and foregrounds intersections among architecture, graphic design, industrial design, textile arts, and product design. Its programs, collections, and research initiatives connect practitioners and publics across disciplines represented by objects spanning the Renaissance to digital fabrication.

History

The museum traces lineage to philanthropist Peter Cooper and collectors Sarah Cooper Hewitt and Eleanor Garnier Hewitt, whose bequest in the early 20th century established an independent foundation that later allied with the Smithsonian Institution under the stewardship of curators and directors influenced by figures associated with institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. Key moments include relocation from original headquarters to the Carnegie Mansion, an adaptive reuse project influenced by preservation efforts connected to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and proponents from the American Institute of Architects. Directors and trustees have collaborated with scholars from Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and Cooper Union to professionalize curatorial practice. The museum’s twentieth- and twenty-first-century transformations were shaped by partnerships with organizations such as the Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the New-York Historical Society.

Collections

The permanent holdings comprise decorative arts, industrial artifacts, and design ephemera from makers, firms, and movements including objects linked to William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Raymond Loewy, and contemporaries like Frank Gehry and Philippe Starck. Highlights encompass textiles with provenance tied to houses such as Liberty of London and manufacturers like M. H. de Young collections; furniture associated with Thonet and Eames; graphic works by Herb Lubalin, Paul Rand, and Milton Glaser; and industrial prototypes connected to Henry Dreyfuss and Norman Bel Geddes. The archive includes pattern books, architectural drawings, and industrial design blueprints alongside ceramics and glasswork from studios linked to Josiah Wedgwood, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and the Baccarat firm. The museum’s holdings also feature contemporary design objects by studios such as Pentagram and firms like IDEO, as well as digital born designs and interactive media tied to scholars from MIT Media Lab and Carnegie Mellon University.

Architecture and Building

Housed in the Carnegie Mansion, a Gilded Age residence designed by architect Berenice Abbott’s contemporaries and originally built for industrialist Andrew Carnegie, the building exemplifies Beaux-Arts and Neo-Renaissance adaptations documented by preservationists affiliated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Renovations overseen by architectural firms connected to the Pritzker Prize milieu integrated modern systems while conserving period interiors, with landscape interventions in dialogue with practices recommended by the Olmsted Brothers tradition. The mansion’s conversion involved collaborators from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, engineering teams versed in adaptive reuse who have worked on projects alongside the High Line and the Flatiron Building, and consultants experienced with museum standards from the American Alliance of Museums.

Exhibitions and Programs

Temporary and traveling exhibitions have examined designers and movements linked to names like Isamu Noguchi, Zaha Hadid, Marcel Breuer, Florence Knoll, and Shiro Kuramata, and featured collaborations with institutions such as the Cooper Union, the Design Museum》（London） and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Public programs include lectures and symposia with curators and practitioners from Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, and Yale School of Architecture, plus workshops run with studios like MoMA PS1 affiliates and technology partners from Adobe Systems and Autodesk. Special initiatives have partnered with festivals and events including NYCxDesign and the Venice Biennale, while traveling exhibitions toured venues associated with the Brooklyn Academy of Music and regional museums across the United States and internationally.

Education and Research

Educational offerings encompass school and family programs developed with educators from Bank Street College of Education and curriculum advisers from Teachers College, Columbia University; fellowship and residency schemes engage scholars from MIT, Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Cornell University. Research projects address design history, conservation, and material studies with collaborators such as the Getty Conservation Institute, the Library of Congress, and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards juries drawing on expertise from figures affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution Libraries and academic presses like Princeton University Press and Yale University Press. Digital initiatives leverage partnerships with technology centers at Stanford University and New York University to publish databases and digitize the object record.

Administration and Funding

The museum operates under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution and is governed by a board including trustees who have served on boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Funding derives from private donors with links to families such as the Rockefeller family and foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, corporate partners including Google and Target Corporation, government arts agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts, and philanthropic entities like the Guggenheim Foundation. Financial oversight aligns with standards promoted by the American Alliance of Museums and audit practices common among nonprofit cultural institutions.

Category:Museums in Manhattan Category:Smithsonian Institution