Huntington Commissions a Betye Saar Installation

Installation view of "Betye Saar: Serious Moonlight" at Institute of Contemporary Art Miami. Photo: Zachary Balber

The Huntington has commissioned Betye Saar to produce an installation for its Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art. Tentatively titled Drifting Toward Twilight, it will incorporate a 17-ft canoe, found objects, neon, and plant material from the Huntington gardens. (Above is another canoe-themed work that was recently on view in the ICA Miami's "Betye Saar: Serious Moonlight.")

The Huntington installation will debut Nov. 11, 2023, and will become one of the few 21st-century works in the American art collection. The Huntington has one other piece by Saar, a 1981 scarf collage titled The Fragility of Illusion. Saar grew up in Pasadena and was inspired by seeing Joseph Cornell's boxes at the Pasadena Museum. 

Betye Saar, The Fragility of Illusion, 1981. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Hannah and Russel Kully. © Betye Saar. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles