Design + Archives = Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

August 5, 2014, by Mitch Toda

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Axonometric Drawing of Metamorphosis, Cooper Hewitt Opening Exhibition.

Axonometric Drawing of Metamorphosis, Cooper Hewitt Opening Exhibition. Record Unit 287 - Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Dept. of Exhibitions, Exhibition Records, 1974-1979, Smithsonian Institution Archives

South Elevation, Carnegie Mansion.

South Elevation, Carnegie Mansion. Record Unit 92 - Prints and Drawings, 1840-, Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Opening exhibition, Design Stars Display Plan.

Opening exhibition, Design Stars Display Plan. Record Unit 92 - Prints and Drawings, 1840-, Smithsonian Institution Archives.

"Depictions of King George IV" exhibition drawing.

"Depictions of King George IV" exhibition drawing. Record Unit 289 - Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Publicity Records, 1897-1973, Smithsonian Institution Archives.

"Depictions of King George IV" exhibition drawing.

"Depictions of King George IV" exhibition drawing. Record Unit 289 - Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Publicity Records, 1897-1973, Smithsonian Institution Archives.

"Ornament in the 20th Century" exhibition poster.

"Ornament in the 20th Century" exhibition poster. Record Unit 287 - Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Dept. of Exhibitions, Exhibition Records, 1974-1979, Smithsonian Institution Archives.

East Elevation, Carnegie Mansion.

East elevation, Carnegie Mansion. Record Unit 92 - Prints and Drawings, 1840-, Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Marquise, 91st Street Entrance.

Marquise, 91st Street Entrance. Record Unit 92 - Prints and Drawings, 1840-, Smithsonian Institution Archives, neg. no. SIA2013-11247.

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design.  Originally established in 1896 as the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, the museum was formally transferred to the Smithsonian on July 1, 1968.  The museum was renamed the Copper-Hewitt Museum of Design at the time of transfer, but was later known as the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in 1969 and then in 1994 it became the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, with its current name being adopted in 2014.

The museum moved into its present home, the Carnegie Mansion in 1970, which was renovated and reopened to the public in 1976.  Closed for renovations since 2011, the redesigned museum will open to the public on December 12, 2014.

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