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Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
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Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facilities located in New York City, along with the National Museum of the American Indian's George Gustav Heye Center in Bowling Green and the Archives of American Art New York Research Center in the Flatiron District. Unlike other Smithsonian museums, Cooper Hewitt charges an admissions fee.[1] It is the only museum in the United States devoted to historical and contemporary design. Its collections and exhibitions explore design aesthetic and creativity from throughout the United States' history.[2]

Key Information

History

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Early history

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In 1895, several granddaughters of the politician and businessman Peter Cooper—Sarah Cooper Hewitt, Eleanor Garnier Hewitt and Amy Hewitt Green—asked the Cooper Union college in New York City for space to create a Museum for the Arts of Decoration. The museum would take its inspiration from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris and would serve as a place for Cooper Union students and professional designers to study decorative arts collections.[2] Cooper Union's trustees provided the fourth floor of the Foundation Building.[3] It opened in 1897 as the "Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration".[4][5] The museum was free and open to the public three days a week.[2][6] The Hewitt sisters donated some of the objects that they owned to the museum.[7]

Early in the museum's history, the Cooper Union Museum received three textile collections from J. P. Morgan and drawings by Giovanni Baglione.[8] The three sisters served as directors of the Museum until Sarah Cooper Hewitt died in 1930. After her death, four directors were appointed to run the museum. Constance P. Hare served as chair. In 1938, Edwin S. Burdell became the director of the Cooper Union. The museum became his responsibility. The board of directors was abolished and an advisory council was established.[2] Through the mid-20th century, the museum's collection came to include furniture, wallpapers, leatherwork, millinery, ceramics, jewelry, textiles, and media such as drawings and prints.[7][9] The museum had begun to decline by the 1950s and 1960s, in part because it was in a hard-to-find location, and Cooper Union students preferred modern art over the museum's dated collections.[8]

Threats of closure

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By the 1960s, the museum and college started to distance themselves from one another in regards to programming. Other departments of the Cooper Union were making financial demands.[2] The Cooper Union announced in June 1963 that it was considering shuttering the museum completely,[10] and the museum closed on July 3, 1963.[11][12] In explaining the closure, the college said that the museum was far from other visitor attractions, the museum space was too small, and it was seeing declining use.[9] Cooper Union officials also said their endowment could not fund the museum's continued operations. This prompted concerns that the museum's collection could be dispersed.[13] A Committee to Save the Cooper Union Museum, formed by Henry Francis Du Pont, threatened to sue to prevent the museum from closing.[14] The committee requested that the Cooper Union's trustees split the museum off from the college's main operations.[15] Another organization, the Greenwich Village Committee, was also formed in July 1963 to try to prevent the proposed relocation of the museum's collections.[16]

The museum reopened September 16, 1963, with its future still uncertain.[17] That November, the Cooper Union accepted the American Association of Museums' offer to conduct a study on the future of the museum.[18] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was located nearby, offered to take over all of the museum's holdings.[3] By 1965, the Smithsonian Institution had begun negotiating to take over the museum from the Cooper Union.[19] At the time, the institution was rapidly expanding the number of artworks and artifacts in its other museums.[20]

Smithsonian operation

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1960s and 1970s

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On October 9, 1967, Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley and Daniel Maggin, the chair of the board of trustees, signed an agreement turning over the collection and library of the museum to the Smithsonian.[2][13] As part of the agreement, the museum was to stay in New York City permanently and would remain in the Cooper Union's Foundation Building for three years.[13] Even before it had finalized its acquisition, the Smithsonian was negotiating to lease the Andrew Carnegie Mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side as the collection's new home.[21] The mansion was five times as large as the museum's Cooper Union space.[22] The New York Supreme Court approved the agreement on May 14, 1968.[2] The museum was officially transferred to the Smithsonian on July 1, becoming the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design, and Richard T. Wunder was named as the director.[23] Wunder planned to obtain objects from around the world.[24] Despite being part of the Smithsonian Institution, the Cooper Hewitt still did not have enough cash to sustain its own operations.[25]

In 1969, it was renamed again to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design.[2] Ripley leased the Carnegie Mansion from the Carnegie Corporation of New York in September 1969.[26][27] Lisa Taylor became the Cooper-Hewitt's director that October,[28] the first woman to serve in that position.[29] The museum, which was the first Smithsonian museum outside of Washington, D.C., moved to its home at the Carnegie Mansion in 1970.[2] The museum obtained the mansion outright in 1972.[30] During the early 1970s, the museum was temporarily closed while it relocated from the Foundation Building to the Carnegie Mansion. During this time, it hosted exhibits at venues such as the Seventh Regiment Armory.[31] By the middle of the decade, the collection had grown to 250 pieces of furniture, 500 glass objects, 1,500 ceramic objects, 6,000 wallpaper samples, 18,000 textile samples, and 30,000 drawings.[25] The museum had 35 paid staff and 72 volunteers by 1976, and it received $258,000 annually in federal funding.[32] In addition, the museum planned to raise money through events, donations, and membership fees.[25]

A soft opening for the museum took place in May 1976.[8] The museum opened to the public on October 7, 1976,[a][34][35] with the exhibition "MAN transFORMs".[33][36] Other museums around the city hosted exhibitions to celebrate the Cooper-Hewitt's opening.[37] Taylor and renovation architect Hugh Hardy planned to convert the mansion's basements into exhibit space,[38] and they also planned a new auditorium, galleries, classrooms, and screening rooms.[32][39] A conservation laboratory was opened in July 1978. The Samuel H. Kress Foundation funded the lab and it focuses on textile and paper conservation.[40] At the time of the Cooper-Hewitt's reopening, it was the only museum in the U.S. that was dedicated exclusively to design.[41][42]

1980s and 1990s

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The Cooper-Hewitt launched a master's degree program in conjunction with the Parsons School of Design in 1982.[42][43] Under Taylor's leadership, the museum also began offering additional educational programs both for adults and for children.[42] In the eight years after the Cooper-Hewitt reopened, it hosted over 100 temporary exhibitions.[29] Lisa Taylor announced her retirement in 1987,[44][45] and the Cooper-Hewitt celebrated the tenth anniversary of its occupancy of the Carnegie Mansion shortly thereafter.[46][47] At the time, in contrast to most Smithsonian museums, the Cooper-Hewitt relied on the Smithsonian for only one-third of its annual budget.[47] Dianne H. Pilgrim became the director in 1988,[48] and the museum was again renamed to Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum that year.[2] According to Pilgrim, the name change was intended to reflect the Cooper-Hewitt's purpose as a "design museum" that focused on the process of design, rather than a "museum of design" that focused on objects.[49]

The Smithsonian bought the McAlpin-Minot House at 11 East 90th Street in 1989 for $3.6 million,[50] and it connected that house to the Carnegie Mansion and 9 East 90th Street.[51] An archive of African American designs was created at the museum in 1991.[52] Pilgrim hired James Stewart Polshek Partners to devise plans for a further renovation of the Cooper-Hewitt buildings.[50][49] The project was initially planned to cost $10 million,[53] but Smithsonian secretary Michael Heyman placed the plans on hold in late 1994 due to cost overruns.[50][49] The budget ultimately increased to $20 million;[54] this consisted of a $13 million allocation from the Smithsonian and $7 million from private sources.[55][56] The museum's logo was changed in late 1994 to emphasize the word "design".[57]

Pilgrim announced in May 1995 that the exhibition galleries in the Carnegie Mansion would close for renovation,[58][59] and the renovation commenced that August.[60] The Carnegie Mansion's first-floor exhibit space reopened in September 1996,[61][62] Work on the passageway and design resources center continued through 1997,[61] and the renovation was not completed until 1998.[54][63]

2000s

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Pilgrim retired from the museum in 2000,[64] and Paul W. Thompson was named as the new director later that year.[65][66] At the time of Thompson's appointment, the New York Times described the Carnegie Mansion as "an almost impossible venue for staging exhibitions on modern design" because the mansion was so much smaller than other museum buildings.[65] Upon becoming the museum's director, Thompson sought to display modern design pieces at the Cooper-Hewitt.[67] Thompson expanded the museum's board of trustees from 18 to 23 members, and the amount each trustee was expected to donate was increased from $10,000 to $25,000. He also planned to increase visitor numbers by one-third, to 200,000.[68] Following the September 11 attacks, the Smithsonian ordered the Cooper-Hewitt to downsize, and Thompson eliminated four senior staff positions in June 2002, a move that prompted complaints from employees.[69] In addition, over a dozen senior staff members resigned during 2001 and 2002,[68] citing dissatisfaction with the work culture.[69] Museum staff told The New York Times that passersby often did not know of the museum's existence or assumed it was affiliated with the Spence School on the same city block.[68]

Thompson originally did not want to expand the museum, but he changed his mind after the museum experienced staffing, budgetary, and exhibit shortages.[70] The museum announced plans in mid-2003 to rearrange galleries,[71] and several members of the museum's board indicated the same year that they would host a master plan competition, in advance of an expansion.[70][72] News media reported in February 2005 that the Cooper-Hewitt was considering a $75 million proposal by Beyer Blinder Belle to expand the museum buildings.[71][73] The basement levels would also have contained a restaurant, conservation rooms, and exhibit-preparation areas.[71] Beyer Blinder Belle proposed a revised plan in 2006, which was to cost $25 million.[74] That year, the museum launched a capital campaign to raise funds for the renovation and the museum's endowment;[75] it had raised $21.5 million by April 2007.[76]

The Cooper-Hewitt hired Gluckman Mayner Architects to design the renovation,[76][77] along with Beyer Blinder Belle as preservation consultants.[78] By October 2008, the cost of the project had increased to $64 million.[79] The Smithsonian began renovating the two townhouses on 90th Street in 2008,[80] with plans to relocate the museum's offices from the mansion to the townhouses.[81] In July 2009, Thompson left the museum to become the rector of the Royal College of Art.[82]

2010s to present

[edit]

Bill Moggridge, a co-founder of IDEO and designer of the first laptop computer, served as Cooper-Hewitt's director in January 2011.[82][81] The Carnegie Mansion was closed to the public in July 2011, during which the museum held exhibitions at the headquarters of the United Nations[83] and on Governors Island.[84] The museum opened a new online retail shop in 2012.[85] That year, the Cooper-Hewitt created an additional space in Harlem as an education facility. Designer Todd Oldham donated design services for the space.[86][87] After Moggridge's death in 2012,[88] Caroline Baumann was named as the museum's director in June 2013.[89][90]

In June 2014, the museum's name was changed again to Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.[91][92] A new graphic identity, wordmark, and new website were launched on this day. The identity was designed by Eddie Opara of Pentagram.[93] The website was developed by Matcha Labs.[93] On December 12, 2014, the Cooper Hewitt reopened to the public.[94][95] Renovations included an "Immersion Room", an interactive space that provides visitors digital access to the museums collection of wallpaper. The main exhibition space was expanded and the museum had a custom open-source font, which remains available for free download and modification, designed for its reopening. In March 2015 the museum introduced the use of a digital pen for visitors to collect objects with.[96]

In 2015, the terrace and garden renovations were completed and opened to the public, with design led by Walter Hood.[97] The Cooper Hewitt hired conservator Cass Fino-Radin in 2016 to review the museum's digital collection, a process which took two years.[98] Baumann resigned as director in February 2020, following an investigation by the Smithsonian's inspector general concerning her wedding[99][100] to John Stewart Malcolmson in 2018.[101] In response, several of the museum's board member threatened to resign, claiming Baumann had been improperly forced out.[102] In February 2022, Maria Nicanor was appointed as the museum's director.[103][104]

Collection

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A chair used by Abraham Lincoln when he visited the Cooper Union in 1860. This is before it was reupholstered in 1949.

The Cooper Hewitt collections consist of decorative and design objects. The museum's original collection focused on architecture, sculpture, painted architecture, decorative arts, woodwork, metalwork, pottery, costume, musical instruments and furniture.[6] The museum has more than 200,000 objects in its collection as of 2024,[105] although estimates range as high as 250,000.[106][107] These range from matchbooks to shopping bags, porcelain from the Soviet Union, and the papers of graphic designer Tibor Kalman.[65] The museum had a metalwork gallery, which showcased historic iron grillwork and a room devoted to ironwork, both of which no longer are focus rooms.[108][109]

Visual art collection

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The museum holds the world's largest collection of works on paper by Hudson River School painter Frederic Edwin Church.[110] By 1976, the museum's collection included 200 Tiepolo paintings, 2,000 F. E. Church sketches, and a large number of Winslow Homer drawings.[32] In 2002, a rare 16th-century drawing from Michelangelo (for which the Cooper Union Museum had paid $60 in 1962) was discovered in the Cooper-Hewitt's collection.[111]

Furniture collection

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The Cooper Hewitt also has a large furniture collection.[112] Some of the objects include a chair used by Abraham Lincoln during a visit to the Cooper Union,[113] a cardboard easy chair designed by Frank Gehry,[114] as well as "twig and root" furniture.[115] Museum namesake Peter Cooper created the first steel chair in the United States, one of which resides in the museum collection.[116]

Other objects

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Upon its opening, Abram S. Hewitt's wife, Sarah Amelia Hewitt donated a lace collection, George Hearn donated two fountains worth $1,000, and Lloyd Bryce's wife donated art and objects from the Palace of Fontainebleau.[6] When the museum acquired the Carnegie Mansion in 1972, it also received some interior decorations from the Widener family's townhouse at 5 East 70th Street (now the site of an annex to the Henry Clay Frick House).[117] By the time the modern museum opened in 1976, it was recorded as having lantern brackets, window grilles, a balcony, 4,000 metal artifacts, and 30,000 international symbols donated by Henry Dreyfuss and his wife Doris.[8] It also had other objects such as 2,000 buttons, 4,280 match cases, lock-and-key sets, pots, skyscraper drawings, and many pieces of Art Deco and Art Nouveau design.[118]

The museum has held notable objects in its collection such as John Lennon's psychedelic Rolls-Royce.[119] The car was donated by Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1978 and was auctioned off at Sotheby's in mid-1985 for $2.09 million.[119][120] A punch bowl replicated by Eleanor Roosevelt, a scarlet Valentine Olivetti typewriter, and an Adrian Saxe vase were also part of the collection.[115]

Exhibitions

[edit]
The 1967 exhibition Treasures from the Cooper Union

Exhibitions at the Cooper Hewitt explore the history and culture of design and decorative arts. Shows have historically focused on singular topics.[41] The first themed shows were organized by Cooper Union Museum director Calvin S. Hathaway in 1933; beforehand, the objects in the museum's collections were primarily used for academic purposes.[118]

Before the 1970s

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The museum hosted two special exhibitions at the 1964 New York World's Fair.[121] A 1968 exhibition called "Please Be Seated", focused on contemporary chairs.[122]

1970s to 1990s

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Blue poster with psychedelic paint job on Rolls-Royce Phantom V automobile.
Poster, Ornament in the 20th Century; Manufactured by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum: Archives; 1980-32-1114

During the 1970s, the museum hosted exhibits on subjects such as resort and motel architecture;[123] objects from the Brighton Pavilion;[124] architectural drawings;[125] John Lennon's Rolls-Royce;[126] Alvar Aalto's architectural works,[127] and hundreds of objects on loan from various other Smithsonian museums.[128] The museum's exhibits in the early 1980s concerned such themes as the history and culture of the ocean liner,[129] puppets,[130] hair styles,[131] copy machine art,[132] plants,[133] British art,[134] Scandinavian design,[135] and teapots.[136] In 1983, the Cooper-Hewitt was the first museum in the United States to exhibit the Amsterdam School.[137] Topics of the museum's exhibits in the second half of the 1980s included wine-related objects,[138] a showcase of art related to Berlin,[139] a tribute to art dealer Siegfried Bing,[140] and subway posters.[141]

When the Cooper-Hewitt showcased its own collections in 1992, it was the longest-running show in the museum's history at the time, lasting 17 months.[106]

Traveling exhibitions

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The museum also tours exhibits through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The first exhibit they toured was 1978's "Close Observation: Selected Oil Sketches by Frederic E. Church".[142] In 1993, the Cooper-Hewitt created the exhibition "The Power of Maps", which was its first exhibition to be shown on the National Mall at the S. Dillon Ripley Gallery. The exhibit featured upwards of 200 maps from around the world.[143] William III and Mary II of England were the focus of a 1988 exhibition.[144] An exhibition featuring 16th- and 17th-century decorative arts from Burghley House.[145]

2000s to present

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The jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels was the focus of an exhibition in 2011.[146] That year, artist Sonia Delaunay had a solo show at the museum.[147] The Cooper-Hewitt worked with the Walker Art Center, in 2012, to develop "Graphic Design – Now In Production", which showcases graphic design that has been created since 2000.[84] An additional exhibition was held in 2012, in light of the museum's closing due to renovations, at the United Nations Headquarters called "Design With the Other 90% Cities", about design and global issues.[148]

Other exhibitions at the museum have included Puiforcat silver, wallpaper, the works of Alexander Girard, and universal design.[65][149][150] In 2015, the museum hosted The Algorithm Auction, the world's first auction of computer algorithms.[151]

In Cooper Hewitt's Face Values installation for the LONDON DESIGN BIENNALE 2018, a live facial data became the basis of dynamic graphic images and provocative conversations between humans and machines. The exhibition explored alternative uses of technologies that were typically used for security, surveillance, and behavioural profiling. Curated by Ellen Lupton, the installation was awarded with the LONDON DESIGN BIENNALE EMOTIONAL STATED MEDAL WINNER 2018.[152]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cooper Hewitt launched a digital exhibition platform.[153] Designed by Linked by Air, the platform allows users to explore objects one by one in thematic sequences, much they would wander around the physical galleries of an exhibition.[154]

Programs

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Outreach

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The museum's National Design Education Center is sponsored by Target. Ongoing programs for preschoolers on up are offered, along with summer camps, professional development, educator resources, and even a master's program.[155][156] In 2012, the Cooper Hewitt started work on its Harlem location, designed by Todd Oldham and sponsored by Target, which provided free workshops and programming.[86]

Initiatives

[edit]

The Cooper Hewitt is home to the National Design Awards. They also support a master's degree program offered in conjunction with Parsons School of Design.[2] In 2006, the Cooper Hewitt and Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared October 15–21 National Design Week in New York City. The week focuses on outreach throughout the city, including schools, and organizations across the United States. The museum is free for the week.[156] The museum sponsored a bike rack competition in 2008. The winners of the contest were a part of an exhibition at the museum.[157]

In the early 2000s, the Cooper-Hewitt's website displayed only 500 of the 250,000 items in the museum's collection. The website was overhauled in 2006, following a $2 million gift from some of the museum's board members; the updated website provided educational programs and photographs of other objects in the museum's collection.[158] In 2013, the Cooper Hewitt took over the code of Planetary, an iOS app that creates graphic visualizations of songs, and released the source code to the public. Media sources reported at the time that it was the museum's first-ever acquisition of software for exhibition purposes.[159] After iOS App Store updates rendered the source code obsolete, an Australian developer released a patched version of the app in 2020.[98]

Building

[edit]
Main article: Andrew Carnegie Mansion
The Carnegie Mansion in 1976

The Cooper Hewitt is located in the Andrew Carnegie Mansion and two adjacent townhouses at 9 and 11 East 90th Street.[160] The 64-room Georgian mansion was completed in 1902 as the home for Andrew Carnegie, his wife Louise, and their daughter Margaret Carnegie Miller.[2] The property has a large private garden.[161] The museum acquired the mansion and the house at 9 East 90th Street in 1972,[30] followed by 11 East 90th Street in 1989.[160] When the museum first obtained the house, the first and second floors were used as exhibit space, while the third floor contained the museum's library.[162]

The museum closed for a $20 million renovation in 1995,[149] reopening the next year.[163] Another renovation was completed in 2014;[94][95] that renovation cost $91 million[95] and was the largest in the museum's history, partially financed by the museum endowment.[82] To celebrate the reopening of the museum in 2015, the Cooper Hewitt released a downloadable 3D scan of the building.[164]

Library and study rooms

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The museum's library was originally known as the Doris and Henry Dreyfuss Study Center.[162][165] The library was described in the 1980s as comprising 45,000 volumes (including 4,000 rare copies), over 1.5 million pictures, and various design journals and magazines. Its holdings covered such disparate subjects as interior, industrial, and graphic design; furniture; and theater.[165] The Cooper Hewitt also includes the Drue Heinz Study Center for Drawings and Prints and the Henry Luce Study Room for American Art,[166][167] which were added to the museum in the 1990s.[168]

Attendance

[edit]

The Cooper Hewitt is the only Smithsonian museum to charge an admission fee to visitors. The museum receives approximately $500,000 a year in revenue from admissions.[169]

The museum recorded about 12,000 monthly visitors, or 144,000 annual visitors, by 2002.[69] As of 2023, the museum sees approximately 150,000 visitors a year.[170]

Reception and commentary

[edit]

When the Cooper-Hewitt moved into the Carnegie Mansion, a Newsday critic called the first exhibition "an unprecedented opportunity to see a museum as a mind-expanding playground".[34] The Washington Post wrote that it was "the foremost American museum of antique and contemporary design".[32] Both the Post and The Boston Globe wrote that the Cooper-Hewitt was similar in scale only to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.[32][118]

A critic for Condé Nast Traveler wrote that the "Cooper Hewitt is worth a visit both for the collection and also for the building itself".[105]

Publications

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See also

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Notes

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References

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Further reading

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

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The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum is the only in the United States devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary , housed in the landmark at 2 East 91st Street in New York City's . It stewards a permanent collection of over 215,000 objects spanning more than 30 centuries of global , encompassing , , textiles, drawings, prints, and , all fully digitized and accessible online. Founded in 1896 by Sarah, Eleanor, and Amy Hewitt—the granddaughters of industrialist —as the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, the institution opened to the public in 1897 on the fourth floor of Cooper Union's Foundation Building in . The museum's early history reflects the Hewitt sisters' vision to educate artists and designers through study of historical examples, with the collection initiated in the through purchases, donations, and loans from European museums and private collectors. After operating independently under until 1968, it transferred to the that year following a legal agreement and court ruling. It was renamed the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of and Design in 1969 and reopened in the renovated Carnegie Mansion in 1976 following a major relocation and expansion. It was renamed the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in 1994 and adopted its current title in 2014, emphasizing its role as a national resource for design innovation. Today, the Cooper Hewitt advances its mission to educate, inspire, and empower people through via dynamic exhibitions, interactive installations, and public programs across its four gallery floors and campus, including restored gardens and townhouses. It administers the annual National Design Awards, launched in 2000 to honor excellence in 10 categories from to corporate and , and partners with on a master's program in the history of design and curatorial studies. As part of the Smithsonian network, the museum integrates 's cultural impact into broader educational outreach, hosting lectures, workshops, and hands-on activities for diverse audiences while exploring 's intersections with society, technology, and the environment.

History

Founding and Early Development

The Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration was founded in 1897 by sisters Sarah Hewitt (1859–1930), Eleanor Hewitt (1864–1924), and their older sister Amy Hewitt (1856–1930), granddaughters of industrialist , with the aim of elevating American design standards through education in the . The institution was established within , reflecting the Hewitt sisters' commitment to providing accessible resources for aspiring designers. Housed on the fourth floor of the Foundation Building in , the museum served primarily as a study collection rather than a public gallery, offering art students, design professionals, and educators access to objects that illustrated historical techniques. From its inception, the Hewitts focused on acquiring European decorative arts and textiles to support practical study, drawing heavily from their personal collections to build the core holdings. Key early acquisitions included antique wallpapers, gilt leathers, and American bandboxes, which highlighted manufacturing processes and aesthetic evolution in decorative objects. Notable purchases, such as 3,620 drawings by Italian artists and designers in , expanded the scope to include architectural and ornamental precedents. In 1902, financier donated over 1,000 textiles, further enriching the collection with diverse global examples for analysis by working designers. Throughout the early 20th century, the museum operated as a specialized resource, with the Hewitt sisters overseeing acquisitions and study programs until Eleanor's death in 1924 and Sarah's in 1930. Under subsequent leadership, including curator Calvin S. Hathaway from , it began hosting public exhibitions to broaden its reach, featuring thematic displays on regional design traditions such as those from . These efforts professionalized operations, including object cataloging, but attendance remained limited as the focus stayed on educational utility. By the mid-20th century, the faced mounting financial and operational pressures, exacerbated by shifting priorities in art education that diminished the perceived relevance of its historical collections. Declining and the strain on Cooper Union's resources led trustees to deem the institution a financial burden, resulting in its closure to the public on July 3, .

Smithsonian Affiliation and Mid-Century Challenges

In the early 1960s, the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration faced severe financial pressures from 's broader operations, leading to an announcement of potential closure on June 29, 1963, and a temporary shutdown on July 3, 1963, for an audit by the . This crisis stemmed from debates over the museum's relevance to Cooper Union's art school programs and escalating maintenance costs for its historic collections of and design objects, originally assembled by Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt in the late . Public outcry prompted the formation of the Committee to Save the Cooper Union Museum, chaired by Henry F. du Pont, which rallied support and advocated for preservation, ultimately averting permanent dispersal of the holdings. The museum reopened to the public on September 16, 1963, under temporary management arranged by the committee, allowing limited access while negotiations for a sustainable future continued. Ongoing budget constraints and questions about its institutional fit persisted through the mid-1960s, with threats of closure resurfacing amid discussions of transferring the collection to another entity, such as the . These challenges were resolved through the Smithsonian Institution's commitment to design preservation, culminating in an agreement signed on October 9, 1967, by Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley and trustee Daniel Maggin, followed by judicial approval on May 14, 1968, and full transfer effective July 1, 1968. This affiliation marked the Smithsonian's first acquisition of a museum outside , renaming it the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design. Under initial Smithsonian operations in the late 1960s, efforts focused on cataloging the extensive collection of over 15,000 objects, including drawings, prints, and textiles, to establish a systematic inventory and conservation plan. Small-scale exhibitions were mounted at temporary venues in , such as the Cooper Union Foundation Building, to maintain public engagement and highlight the museum's design-focused mission amid the transition. Lisa Taylor was appointed director in 1969, overseeing the relocation planning to the at 2 East 91st Street, initially leased from the Carnegie Corporation for $1 per year starting in 1969. The mansion was fully acquired by the Smithsonian in , valued at approximately $8 million, providing a permanent home suited to the museum's emphasis on architectural and decorative . Renovations adapted the historic structure for exhibition spaces while preserving its features, leading to the museum's reopening on , 1976. This period solidified the institution's identity as the Smithsonian's National Museum of Design, with the inaugural exhibition "MAN transFORMs: Aspects of Design," curated by , exploring human transformation through across cultures and eras, drawing over 100,000 visitors in its initial run through February 1977.

Post-1970 Expansion and Institutional Growth

In 1994, the museum was renamed the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum to underscore its national role in promoting design excellence across the . This change reflected growing institutional ambitions following its 1970s relocation to the Carnegie Mansion. During the , the museum experienced significant expansion, including the 1989 acquisition of the adjacent Fox House at 11 East 90th Street to increase space for collections and programs. Late in the decade, a major renovation added the Agnes Bourne Bridge Gallery, enhancing accessibility and educational facilities. In 2001, the Drue Heinz Study Center for Drawings and Prints opened, providing dedicated space for visitor research. These developments were supported by increased federal funding for Smithsonian facilities, which rose in the late to address growing operational needs, though budgets remained challenged by expanding demands. The launch of the National Design Awards in 2000 marked a pivotal moment in the museum's outreach, established as an official Millennium Council project to recognize outstanding American design contributions and elevate public awareness of the field. In the mid-2000s, institutional growth accelerated with the initiation of a capital campaign in 2006 to fund major infrastructure upgrades and the debut of National Design Week, an annual educational initiative held alongside the awards to promote design's societal impact. Concurrently, the museum advanced digital access to its collections, beginning efforts to catalog and share objects online, which laid the groundwork for broader virtual engagement in subsequent years. A transformative $91 million renovation, begun in 2006 and completed after the museum's closure from 2011 to 2014, expanded gallery space by 60 percent and integrated interactive technologies to immerse visitors in design processes. Upon reopening on December 12, 2014, the institution adopted its current name, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, signaling a modernized focus on contemporary design innovation. From the 2010s onward, the museum adapted to contemporary challenges, notably during the , when it launched the Digital Mansion platform in April 2020 to provide remote access to online exhibitions, virtual programs, and collection highlights amid physical closures through 2022. This shift expanded digital programming, including virtual tours and engagements, ensuring continued public connection. By 2025, the museum celebrated the 25th anniversary of the National Design Awards, announcing winners on January 28 to honor achievements in categories such as , , and emerging design, reaffirming its role in national design discourse.

Building and Facilities

Architectural Features

The Carnegie Mansion, serving as the core of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, was constructed between 1899 and 1902 as the private residence of industrialist and his family. Designed by the Babb, Cook & Willard, the building exemplifies Georgian Revival style, characterized by its symmetrical facade, multi-paned windows, and embellished roof cornice, marking it as one of the first private residences in the United States to employ a frame for enhanced durability and openness. This 64-room structure spans five floors that now house galleries, offices, and event spaces. Key architectural elements include a prominent grand staircase in the , which features rich wood paneling and Tiffany-style lamps, facilitating both circulation and ceremonial functions within the mansion. Period rooms, such as the with its carved corbels and the family library, preserve original interiors like ornate coffered oak ceilings and custom stenciled murals inspired by Indian motifs created by designer Lockwood de Forest. The mansion integrates two adjacent townhouses at 9 East 90th Street, connected internally to expand administrative and storage areas while maintaining the historic envelope. An original large private garden, one of Manhattan's few enclosed green spaces at the time, was reimagined in 2014–2015 by Hood Design Studio into a public terrace and garden with new pathways, plantings, and rock features, enhancing visitor access without altering the mansion's footprint. Modern interventions complement these historic features, particularly through the work of , who introduced modular display systems and interactive technologies, such as touch-enabled tables and a digital "Pen" stylus for visitor engagement, seamlessly integrated into restored woodwork and murals to support dynamic exhibitions. These adaptations preserve the mansion's Renaissance-inspired detailing—evident in elements like the and —while adapting the space for contemporary museum use across its basement utilities, ground-floor entries, and upper-level galleries.

Major Renovations

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum underwent a significant $20 million from 1995 to 1996, aimed at restoring the historic interiors of the while modernizing facilities for museum use. This project included the addition of climate control systems to protect collections, restoration of period details such as woodwork and , and the creation of new gallery spaces to expand capacity. The museum closed in September 1995 for the work and reopened in early 1996, enhancing its ability to display design objects in a preserved yet functional environment. A more extensive transformation occurred with the 2014 renovation, a $91 million, six-year project that closed the museum from 2011 to 2014 and fundamentally reimagined the Carnegie Mansion as a contemporary design venue. Key elements included enclosing the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden with a glass structure designed by Hood Design Studio to create year-round accessible outdoor space, installing digital interactive walls such as the Immersion Room for visitor engagement with wallpapers and patterns, and implementing accessibility improvements like ADA-compliant routes, new elevators, and fire safety stairs. The museum reopened to the public on December 12, 2014, with 60 percent more exhibition space, including a new 6,000-square-foot gallery on the third floor, and achieved LEED Silver certification through features like 40 percent water reduction and 75 percent construction waste recycling. Following the 2014 reopening, the museum implemented minor updates focused on digital integration and , such as ongoing enhancements to interactive tools like the museum's for content and new digital exhibitions exploring environmental design themes. These included projects like the 2018 "Dive into Color" interactive timeline and conservation efforts for born-digital objects, extending the renovation's technological framework through 2025. These renovations profoundly impacted the visitor experience by introducing a restored processional stair for better orientation and flow, alongside flexible exhibition spaces that allow for adaptable installations and year-round programming. The additions fostered greater interactivity and accessibility, transforming the mansion from a static into a dynamic hub for design exploration.

Collections

Overall Scope and Digitization

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum maintains a permanent collection of 215,164 objects that spans more than 30 centuries of , encompassing artifacts from ancient civilizations to contemporary innovations. This vast holdings reflect a broad scope dedicated to historical and contemporary design across global cultures, with an increasing emphasis on American design following its affiliation with the in 1970. The collection is organized into five curatorial departments, including the Digital department established in 2023. The core of the collection originated from gifts by founders , , and Hewitt in 1897, when they established the museum as the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, initially focusing on to support design education. Over the subsequent decades, the holdings expanded significantly through strategic purchases, generous donations from collectors and estates, and integrations facilitated by the Smithsonian, which acquired the institution in 1968, physically relocated it to the in 1970, and reopened it to the public in 1976 following major renovation. These acquisitions have diversified the collection to include works from diverse regions, such as Pre-Columbian textiles from the and drawings from Europe, alongside modern industrial designs. In a landmark effort to enhance , the museum completed the full of its collection in 2016, making over 200,000 records publicly available online through the open-access platform at collection.cooperhewitt.org. This initiative built on earlier digital projects, including the launch of an in the mid-2000s that allows developers and researchers to query and utilize the data for interactive applications and scholarly analysis. As of 2025, the digitized records continue to grow with ongoing cataloging, providing high-resolution images, metadata, and 3D models under a Zero (CC0) license to promote widespread reuse and discovery.

Decorative Arts and Furniture

The and department at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum encompasses over 40,000 objects spanning functional and ornamental design from ancient times through the 21st century, with a particular emphasis on three-dimensional works such as ceramics, , and metalwork produced between the 17th and 21st centuries. These holdings reflect in everyday and luxury items, including European porcelain from the factory and American by designers like , highlighting the evolution of craftsmanship and industrial techniques. The furniture collection within this department features significant American and European pieces that underscore historical and modern design principles, such as a Revival carved mahogany armchair used by during his 1860 speech at , which entered the collection in the mid-20th century. Notable 20th-century examples include chairs and sofas by , like the DCW lounge chair manufactured by and the ES 108 sofa with its walnut frame and leather , exemplifying mid-century modernism's focus on ergonomic form and material honesty. These items, drawn from makers across continents, illustrate the interplay between utility and in furniture design. Unique to the collection are product design prototypes and industrial objects that capture creative processes and technological advancements, such as original prototypes and drawings for the OXO Good Grips kitchen tools, which demonstrate user-centered innovation in the late . Additionally, the holdings include 20th-century lighting fixtures from firms like Edward F. Caldwell & Co., featuring custom chandeliers and sconces that blend ornamentation with early electric-era functionality, reflecting New York's opulence. Conservation efforts for these fragile items are supported by a dedicated off-site facility established in the early , designed to high preservation standards with climate-controlled storage and specialized treatment labs to ensure the longevity of materials like and metal. Conservators employ techniques such as structural stabilization and aesthetic restoration, often in collaboration with curators, to maintain the objects' interpretive value while addressing risks from environmental factors and handling. This work extends to developing custom preservation systems for the department's diverse holdings, safeguarding prototypes and historical pieces for future study.

Visual Arts and Textiles

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum's holdings are primarily housed in the Drawings, Prints, and department, which encompasses over 128,000 works on paper spanning from the to the contemporary era. These include drawings, prints, and paintings that illustrate design concepts in , ornament, and fine , with a particular emphasis on two-dimensional representations rather than functional objects. A standout subset is the museum's extensive collection of works by painter , comprising more than 2,000 oil sketches and graphite drawings that capture landscapes and natural motifs, such as Schoodic Peninsula from Mount Desert at Sunrise (1850–55). Additionally, the department features 19th-century architectural renderings, like Bernardino Sozi di Vincenzo's Design for Proposed Additions to an Octagonal Church (1573), which demonstrate evolving structural and decorative ideas through detailed and techniques. The textiles collection, comprising approximately 26,500 items, draws from diverse global traditions and techniques, including weaving, printing, and dyeing methods that highlight cultural and aesthetic exchanges across centuries. Notable examples include 18th-century French silks, such as brocaded fragments with large-scale floral sprays in colored silks on white grounds, exemplifying the opulent bizarre style characterized by sinuous lines and asymmetrical motifs from the late 17th to early 18th centuries. In contrast, modern graphic textiles in the collection feature bold, patterned designs like those by Jack Lenor Larsen, such as the intense wallpaper pattern created for Karl Mann in the mid-20th century, which blends abstract geometry with scalable production techniques. Complementing these are the wallcoverings holdings, the largest of their kind in the United States with over 9,000 objects, including around 3,000 distinct patterns ranging from hand-printed historical motifs to mass-produced contemporary papers. Within the graphic design purview, the department holds significant examples of posters, books, and that trace the shift from print to interactive formats since the . The collection alone exceeds 4,000 items, featuring works that explore principles, such as those by E. McKnight Kauffer in early modernist advertising. Book holdings include seminal texts on , while digital acquisitions, starting prominently in the , encompass like the 2013 iPad app Planetary by Bloom Studio, which visualizes music libraries as celestial systems and represents the museum's pioneering effort to preserve software as a design artifact. These collections serve as vital resources for research into design evolution and cultural influences, accessible through study centers like the Drue Heinz Study Center for Drawings and Prints, where scholars analyze how visual and elements reflect broader societal shifts in and . Much of the material is digitized for broader scholarly access, enabling detailed examination of patterns and motifs without physical handling.

Exhibitions

Pre-1970 Exhibitions

The Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, founded in 1897 by and Hewitt, initially functioned primarily as a study collection for students and designers, with galleries opening to the public in 1902 on the fourth floor of the Foundation Building in . Early displays emphasized European , including textiles, wallpapers, furniture, and metalwork, drawn from the Hewitt sisters' personal acquisitions and donations, serving as inspirational resources rather than formal exhibitions. These study-based installations highlighted historical design precedents to educate emerging artists, with limited public access and no admission fees, reflecting the museum's role as an educational laboratory affiliated with 's . Under director Calvin S. Hathaway, appointed in 1933, the museum shifted toward organized thematic exhibitions to showcase its growing collections and engage professional designers, marking the introduction of the first rotating shows. In the and 1940s, displays focused on and craftsmanship, such as "Baked Clay: The Service of Man" (1938–1939), which explored ceramics across civilizations, and "Buttons, 4001" (1940), a detailed survey of button designs from antiquity to the present. The brought broader surveys of , including "All That Glisters" (1950) on metallic objects and "American Drawings" (1954), which highlighted national artistic traditions, often accompanied by catalogs to aid study. These exhibitions maintained an educational emphasis, prioritizing depth for students and working professionals over broad public appeal, with attendance remaining modest due to the museum's location and scholarly orientation. By the 1960s, financial pressures on led to reduced programming and threats of closure, culminating in a 1963 announcement to shutter the museum, though advocacy efforts secured its temporary continuation. Exhibitions during this period were scaled back but included small-scale reopenings, such as "Art in the Cooper Union, Part III" (1963), featuring student and faculty works, and the annual "Artist-Craftsmen of New York" series (1959–1963), which spotlighted contemporary American crafts like and textiles to bridge historical collections with modern practice. Later efforts, like "The Architect's Eye" (1962) on architectural drawings and "Ancient in Miniature" (1966) on pre-Columbian artifacts, underscored the museum's commitment to diverse design narratives amid institutional uncertainty, paving the way for its 1970 affiliation with the .

1970s to 1990s Exhibitions

During the 1970s, following its affiliation with the and relocation to the in 1976, the Cooper Hewitt expanded its exhibition program to emphasize thematic explorations of design's role in and culture. The inaugural exhibition, MAN transFORMS: Aspects of Design, conceived by architect , opened in October 1976 and showcased international examples of tools, technology, and human adaptation through objects like textiles, furniture, and prototypes, drawing from the museum's collections and loans to redefine design boundaries. This show toured nationally and internationally from 1977 to 1979, highlighting the museum's growing emphasis on circulating exhibits to broader audiences. Other notable 1970s exhibitions included Naives and Visionaries (1975–1976), a traveling survey of self-taught artists' works, and Immovable Objects II: The Subway (1977–1978), which examined urban infrastructure through s and models and also circulated to other venues. In the 1980s, the museum's programming increased to approximately 8–12 exhibitions annually, blending permanent collection displays with temporary loans to address emerging design trends in technology and global styles. Electroworks (September 2–November 2, 1980) featured over 250 works tracing the evolution of digital imaging and photocopier art, including pieces by artists like Vanalyne Green, marking an early focus on electronic media in design. The Ocean Liner: Speed, Style, Symbol (January 22–April 6, 1980) explored maritime design history with models, posters, and artifacts from the late 19th century onward, evoking the glamour of transatlantic travel. Later in the decade, Art Nouveau Bing: The Paris Style 1900 (July 21–October 11, 1987) honored dealer Siegfried Bing through jewelry, furniture, and decorative objects, illustrating the movement's influence on modern aesthetics. Traveling shows, such as Golden Eye: An International Tribute to the Artisans of India (1984–1986), accounted for roughly 20% of the program and reached institutions across the U.S., including other Smithsonian sites like the "Hair" exhibition (June 10–August 17, 1980), which displayed 350 objects on hairstyling history and symbolism. The 1990s saw continued growth in exhibition scale, with 10–15 shows per year that increasingly incorporated interdisciplinary themes, setting the stage for later social impact initiatives through explorations of and equity in . The Power of Maps (1992–1994) presented over 400 historic and contemporary maps, from a 1500 B.C. Mesopotamian tablet to 19th-century Native American examples, to examine cartography's cultural and political influences. Earlier in the decade, A Design Resource (1991–1992) highlighted practical applications of the museum's collections in product development. Traveling exhibitions persisted, with about one in five shows, such as Vienna Moderne: 1898–1918 (1978, extended into the 1990s circuits), reinforcing the museum's national outreach. These analog, object-focused presentations contrasted with pre-1970 study collections by prioritizing public engagement through immersive, narrative-driven formats.

2000s to Present Exhibitions

In the 2000s, Cooper Hewitt emphasized contemporary design through its inaugural National Design Triennial series, launched in 2000 to address urgent topics and often tied to the museum's newly established National Design Awards program, which celebrated American design excellence starting that year. The first triennial, "Design Culture Now," featured works exploring the intersection of design and culture, including and consumer products, and ran from March to August 2000. Subsequent exhibitions in the decade, such as "Aluminum by Design: From Jewelry to Jets" (2001–2002), highlighted innovative material use in industrial and decorative objects, showcasing over 150 items from jewelry to components. The 2010s saw a shift toward luxury, , and portraiture in design, with "Set in Style: The Jewelry of " (February 18–June 5, 2011) presenting more than 350 jewels, timepieces, and accessories, drawing a record 172,000 visitors and underscoring the maison's influence on 20th-century adornment. In 2018, "Face Values: Exploring ," an immersive installation in the Process Lab, examined facial recognition 's societal implications through interactive AI-driven portraits, later representing the U.S. at the London Design Biennale and winning the Emotional States Medal. The decade also included "Plastics" (2019–2022), which critically assessed plastic's environmental and aesthetic roles via over 300 objects, from postwar furniture to sustainable prototypes. During the 2020s, the prompted the launch of the Digital Mansion platform in April 2020, enabling virtual tours, online exhibitions, and programs like remote workshops to maintain engagement amid closures. This digital pivot supported exhibitions such as "Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics" (2021–2023), which paired historical artifacts with contemporary solutions to health crises, including pandemic-inspired designs. The "Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial" (November 2, 2024–August 10, 2025), the seventh in the series, debuted 25 site-specific installations reimagining home across U.S. territories and Tribal Nations, addressing themes of belonging and resilience. Looking ahead, "Made in America: The Industrial Photography of Payne" opens December 12, 2025, through fall 2026, featuring over 70 large-format images documenting American sites and their legacies. Throughout this period, exhibitions increasingly integrated interactive technologies, as seen in AI engagements and virtual platforms, while focusing on social issues like —evident in plastics critiques and explorations—to provoke dialogue on design's ethical dimensions.

Programs and Initiatives

Educational Programs

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum offers a in of Design and Curatorial Studies in partnership with at , a program established in 1982 that provides object-focused training in curatorial practice and from the to the present. Students engage in hands-on curatorial projects, including development and public programming at the , drawing on its collections for practical study in areas such as furniture, ceramics, and textiles. The two-to-four-year program, which can be pursued full- or part-time, emphasizes interdisciplinary and prepares graduates for careers in museums, galleries, and design institutions. Complementing formal degree offerings, the museum hosts a year-round series of workshops and lectures that explore contemporary design topics, including digital design, sustainable practices, and curatorial strategies. These events feature leading designers, scholars, and practitioners through panel discussions, hands-on sessions, and studio visits, fostering public engagement with and innovation. With dozens of such programs annually, they provide accessible learning opportunities for adults and design enthusiasts, often tied to current exhibitions. For K-12 audiences, Cooper Hewitt delivers guided tours and hands-on activities that introduce students to design's role in everyday life, customized by grade level and aligned with educational standards. These in-person and virtual field trips encourage through interactive exploration of exhibitions and collections. Prior to , school programs promoted design literacy and cultural responsiveness in classrooms nationwide. Teen and family initiatives at the museum emphasize through challenges, workshops, and summer camps that build skills in ideation and prototyping. Programs like Design Practice offer free monthly sessions for high schoolers to experiment with techniques and careers, while family-oriented activities, such as mini-challenges inspired by triennial exhibitions, invite intergenerational participation in sketching, building, and digital tools. Summer design camps guide small groups of children in , teaching core processes like problem definition and . These efforts leverage the museum's holdings to inspire young participants to view as a tool for personal and communal expression.

National Design Awards

The National Design Awards program was launched in 2000 by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, as an official project of the Millennium Council to recognize and excellence in American design. The awards honor outstanding contributions across 10 categories, including , , digital design, , , , , , , and corporate citizenship. The selection process begins with an open call for nominations solicited from designers, design organizations, and the public nationwide. A multidisciplinary jury composed of prominent design practitioners, educators, critics, and leaders reviews submissions and selects winners based on criteria such as innovation, impact on , and sustained excellence, with nominees typically requiring at least seven years of professional experience. Winners are celebrated at an annual gala dinner held in since 2001, which serves as a major fundraising and awareness event for the museum. Since its inception, the program has honored over 300 individuals, firms, and organizations, fostering a broad network of design influencers and elevating public appreciation for design's role in society. The awards have grown to emphasize contemporary challenges, including a dedicated category introduced in recent years to spotlight sustainable solutions. In 2025, marking the program's 25th anniversary, winners were announced on January 28, with emerging talents such as Nu Goteh (Emerging Designer, for community-focused cultural integration) and ilumiNACIÓN by (Climate Action, for equitable post-disaster sustainable energy platforms) recognized for advancing practices. The full list included recipients in all categories, such as (Architecture) and TERREMOTO (Landscape Architecture), selected by a jury chaired by Maurice D. Cox. Related exhibitions at Cooper Hewitt feature displays of award-winning works to showcase their impact, often integrated into broader programming like National Design Week. For instance, the 2024 "Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial" highlighted innovations in domestic design, aligning with award categories such as interior and through site-specific installations.

Outreach and Partnerships

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has fostered extensive outreach through National Design Week, an annual city-wide event launched in 2006 in . Held in conjunction with the National Design Awards, the week features public programming across the city, including workshops, panels, and exhibitions that highlight design's role in everyday life, with free museum admission to broaden . Corporate partnerships have supported the museum's external engagement, notably through collaborations with Target from the mid-2000s to the 2010s, which funded free student field trips and classroom programs to introduce education to K-12 audiences in . These initiatives, such as the Target Design K-12 program, brought museum educators into schools and provided no-cost access to exhibitions, enabling thousands of students to explore concepts without financial barriers. Community outreach efforts emphasize programs for underserved groups, with a focus on design equity initiatives intensified after 2020 amid broader calls for inclusivity. The museum developed resources like the Design at Home activity book to address the , distributing printable materials to communities with limited online access during the . Additionally, the Diversity Affinity Group, active since around 2017 and expanded in 2020, supports equitable programming by guiding outreach to diverse audiences, including those from under-resourced backgrounds, through empathetic design practices that tackle social inequities. International ties strengthen the museum's global reach via loans and co-exhibitions, particularly with institutions like the in . Since the , Cooper Hewitt has facilitated reciprocal loans, such as artifacts from the V&A for exhibitions on and , enabling cross-cultural dialogues on shared collections. These partnerships extend to joint initiatives, including U.S. representation at events like the , where collaborative displays underscore design's worldwide impact.

Library and Study Resources

Core Holdings

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library holds over 100,000 volumes encompassing books, serials, trade catalogs, microforms, theses, picture files, and archival materials focused on design and decorative arts. These resources span from the Renaissance to the present day, providing in-depth coverage of subjects such as architecture, ceramics, furniture, glass, graphics, industrial design, interiors, landscape design, lighting, metalwork, ornamental designs, textiles, and wallpaper. The library's collections emphasize the theory, history, processes, materials, patterns, uses, and social aspects of designed objects, ranging from stained glass and computers to gardens, buildings, interiors, theater sets, and urban environments. Key visual resources include extensive image collections, such as the George Kubler Collection with over 60,000 engravings and illustrations extracted from 19th-century European and American books and periodicals; the Edward F. Caldwell & Co. Collection featuring more than 50,000 photographs and 13,000 drawings related to ; and the M. Thérèse Bonney Collection comprising 4,300 black-and-white photographs documenting and in from 1925 to 1939. Ephemera forms a significant part of the holdings, integrated within the broader archival materials and including items like guides, journals, and promotional pieces. Special collections highlight rare and unique items, including the Rare Book Room with more than 10,000 rare items such as 16th-century lace pattern guides and 18th-century brass and furniture catalogs; the Collection with over 1,000 items in books, journals, guides, and , including materials from the 1939 event; and the Pop-Up and Movable Books Collection with approximately 1,700 titles. Trade catalogs and sample books document design processes and materials across industries, while historic periodicals cover early 20th-century topics like home decorating and ornamental arts. Access to the library is available to researchers by appointment, requiring advance notice of at least 24 hours via ([email protected]) to specify research interests, affiliation, and preferred visit times, excluding federal holidays. Materials are housed at 9 East 90th Street in , with some offsite in , and the collections are discoverable through the Smithsonian's integrated digital catalog system, SIRIS (Smithsonian Institution Research Information System).

Specialized Study Centers

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum maintains dedicated study centers to enable focused on key aspects of its vast design collection, offering hands-on access to objects that are not on view. These facilities cater to curators, scholars, students, and members of the through appointment-based visits, emphasizing careful handling protocols to preserve delicate materials. Many items within these centers have digitized previews available via the museum's collection portal, allowing preliminary exploration before in-person appointments. The Drue Heinz Study Center for Drawings and Prints provides scholarly access to over 147,000 works on paper, ranging from Renaissance-era pieces to contemporary examples across disciplines such as architecture, , interiors, ornament, jewelry, textiles, , , and fine arts. This center supports in-depth analysis by offering a controlled environment for examining these fragile items, aiding into the evolution of design motifs and techniques. Appointments are scheduled on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with sessions limited to small groups to ensure optimal conditions for study. The Arthur Ross Study Center for Furniture and Decorative Arts is outfitted with specialized equipment for the safe examination of three-dimensional objects from the museum's and department, which encompasses furniture, metalwork, ceramics, glass, and jewelry spanning historical and modern periods. This space facilitates detailed curatorial and academic investigation, including measurements, material analysis, and contextual comparisons, contributing to exhibitions, publications, and design scholarship. Access is by appointment, often coordinated with the museum's off-site storage and conservation facilities to accommodate larger or sensitive items. The Wallcovering Study Collection occupies an interactive room dedicated to the museum's holdings of over historical and contemporary samples, enabling research through digital tools that project selections onto full-scale walls for immersive visualization. Curated to highlight the department's comprehensive —the largest of its kind —this facility supports studies on stylistic developments, techniques, and applications in interiors, with users able to manipulate and combine patterns for experimental purposes. Like other centers, it accommodates via scheduled visits, complementing online access to high-resolution images and metadata. Together, these study centers underscore the museum's commitment to advancing by bridging physical and digital resources, with all appointments arranged through the dedicated [email protected].

Impact and Legacy

Attendance and Visitor Engagement

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has maintained a steady but modest profile compared to larger Smithsonian institutions, with historical figures reflecting its specialized focus on . In 2002, the museum recorded approximately 150,000 annual visitors. Following its major renovation and reopening in December , attendance increased significantly, with a goal to exceed 300,000 visitors in 2015. Smithsonian data indicates 152,591 visitors in 2023 and 135,853 in 2024. The "Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial" , which ran from November 2024 to August 2025 and featured 25 commissioned installations exploring themes of and refuge, contributed to programming during this period. As of November 2025, the museum is temporarily closed for installation and is scheduled to reopen on December 12, 2025, with new . To enhance visitor engagement, the museum provides interactive tools such as , a digital device issued at admission that allows visitors to collect objects, draw on interactive tables, and personalize their experience across galleries. Free admission opportunities include cardholder access during the first full weekend of each month via the Museums On Us program and pay-what-you-wish entry from 5 to 6 p.m. on select evenings. General admission is $18 for adults, generating revenue to support operations, though exact annual figures from ticket sales are not publicly detailed. Attendance trends shifted significantly during the , with physical closures from 2020 to 2022 leading to a surge in digital engagement through the launch of the Digital Mansion platform, offering virtual exhibitions, programs, and collection access. The museum has since adopted a hybrid model, blending in-person visits with robust online resources to sustain broader reach.

Critical Reception

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum's collections have been praised for their comprehensive depth in documenting , with critics highlighting the breadth of objects spanning , , and from the 17th century onward. A 1991 New York Times review of the museum's inaugural collection display noted the "illustrations of the museum's depth too numerous to list," emphasizing how the holdings provide an unparalleled resource for understanding design evolution in the United States. Exhibitions at the Cooper Hewitt have received acclaim for their innovative approaches to contemporary themes, particularly in blending with social issues. The 2018 "Face Values: Exploring " installation, presented at the London Design Biennale, was awarded the Emotional States Medal for its "most inspiring" interpretation of emotional states through facial recognition , drawing praise for confronting the ethical implications of AI in . Critics lauded the exhibit's immersive elements, such as interactive emotion-detection pieces, for sparking global discourse on data privacy and human expression in . Early institutional challenges included debates over the museum's viability in the 1960s, when the Cooper Union announced its closure in 1963 due to financial pressures and declining interest, prompting significant public outcry that ultimately led to the Smithsonian's acquisition of the collections in 1968. Post-2014, following a major , the museum garnered positive critiques for enhanced , with a New Yorker review describing the reopened space as an "accessible, hands-on place" featuring interactive touch-screens and the Immersion Room to engage diverse visitors. The Cooper Hewitt is widely recognized as the ' premier , shaping national and international conversations on through its exclusive focus on historical and contemporary . Its integration into the Smithsonian in solidified this status, positioning it as a key institution for advancing as a vital cultural force.

Publications

Exhibition Catalogs

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum produces exhibition catalogs as essential companions to its major shows, offering detailed documentation, high-quality images, and scholarly essays that contextualize themes and artifacts. These publications serve as lasting records of the museum's curatorial vision, often featuring contributions from designers, historians, and critics to deepen understanding of contemporary and historical practices. An early example is the 1976 catalog Man Transforms: An International Exhibition on Aspects of Design, produced for the museum's inaugural exhibition as the Smithsonian's National Museum of Design. Conceived by architect Hans Hollein and sponsored by the Johnson Wax Company, the catalog includes essays exploring technology's role in transforming human environments and daily life, illustrated with objects from the exhibition that highlight innovative design solutions. Published by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, it marked a foundational moment in the institution's publishing history. In the , the hardcover catalog The Power of Maps (1992) accompanied the exhibition of the same name, which ran from October 1992 to March 1993. Authored by cartographer Denis Wood, the publication examines how maps encode power, perspective, and cultural narratives through , drawing on over 300 historical and modern examples from the 's collection. It challenges viewers to reconsider maps not as neutral tools but as persuasive objects shaped by their creators' agendas. Published by Guilford Press in collaboration with the , the 256-page combines dense with vivid reproductions to underscore the exhibition's impact on . More recently, the 2024 catalog Making Home: Belonging, Memory, and Utopia in the 21st Century documents the Smithsonian Design Triennial exhibition, focusing on domestic design's role in shaping physical and emotional spaces across the . Featuring essays and visuals on 25 commissioned installations, it addresses themes of home amid social, environmental, and technological change, with contributions from diverse designers exploring belonging and resilience. Published by Cooper Hewitt to coincide with the exhibition's opening on November 2, 2024, and running through August 10, 2025, the catalog emphasizes inclusive narratives in contemporary design practice. Exhibition catalogs from Cooper Hewitt typically range from 100 to 200 pages, blending full-color images of artifacts and installations with scholarly contributions that provide historical context, curatorial insights, and forward-looking analysis. This format ensures accessibility for both general audiences and researchers, prioritizing visual storytelling alongside intellectual depth. For instance, the 224-page catalog for the 2015 exhibition How Posters Work exemplifies this approach with its primer on visual design principles.

Monographs and Institutional Books

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has published a range of standalone monographs and institutional books that document its collections, institutional , and key themes in , often through the . These works provide in-depth explorations beyond temporary exhibitions, emphasizing enduring scholarly contributions to studies. Since the museum's integration into the Smithsonian in , it has produced numerous such titles, with over 20 documented since the 1970s, distributed via the Smithsonian Institution Press or directly under the Cooper Hewitt imprint. Collection-focused monographs highlight specific areas of the museum's holdings. A notable example is Furniture in the Collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Design, published in 1979, which includes an essay by David Revere McFadden and features photographs and descriptions of significant furniture pieces from the collection, spanning historical and . This volume was part of a series emphasizing the museum's curatorial strengths in object-based scholarship. Following the museum's 2014 reopening after extensive renovations, many such historical publications, including this one, were digitized and made freely accessible online to broaden public and academic engagement with the collections. Institutional history is addressed in dedicated volumes tracing the museum's physical and organizational evolution. Life of a Mansion: The Story of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum by Heather Ewing, published in 2014, details the transformation of the —built in 1902—from a residence to the 's home, covering architectural changes, renovations, and its role in design preservation. The book draws on archival records to illustrate how the building's adaptations reflect broader shifts in practices and heritage. Thematic monographs explore design movements and mediums through the lens of the collection. Printed Textiles, 1760-1860, in the Collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of , published in 1979, examines European and American printed textiles, analyzing techniques, patterns, and cultural contexts with over 100 illustrations. For a more recent thematic work, Designing : Building a Better Future Now, edited by E. Smith and published in 2022, offers an overview of design's intersections with , including digital tools for collaborative and inclusive practices, featuring essays from global designers. These publications underscore the museum's commitment to linking historical artifacts with contemporary design discourse.

References

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  16. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2014/08/08/meet-the-hewitts-part-ten/
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  34. https://dsrny.com/project/cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum-1
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  40. https://labs.cooperhewitt.org/2014/the-api-at-the-center-of-the-museum/
  41. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/channel/nature/
  42. https://labs.cooperhewitt.org/2018/making-dive-into-color/
  43. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/tag/digital-conservation/
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