Archer Milton Huntington (March 10, 1870 – December 11, 1955) was the son of Arabella (née Duval) Huntington and the stepson of railroad magnate and industrialist Collis P. Huntington. A lifelong friend of the arts, he is known for his scholarly works in the field of Hispanic Studies and for founding The Hispanic Society of America in New York City.
He was also a major benefactor of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Numismatic Society which he convinced to relocate next to the Hispanic Society at the Beaux Arts Audubon Terrace complex in New York's Washington Heights. In 1932, he founded the Brookgreen Gardens sculpture center in South Carolina; and the Mariners' Museum which is one of the largest maritime museums in the world, in Newport News, Virginia, a new independent city that was established in the late 19th century largely though the efforts of his stepfather Collis P. Huntington.
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Archer Huntington was married twice. On August 6, 1895, he married, Helen Manchester Gates, the daughter of Rev. Isaac E. Gates and Ellen M.H. Gates (his stepfather's sister). Like her mother, Helen was a writer. Archer and Helen were temporarily detained and effectively under arrest by German authorities in Nuremberg, Bavaria at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 due to suspicions that Archer, a representative of the American Geographic Society, was a spy. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan appealed for their release through diplomatic channels.[1] Archer and Helen had no children and divorced in 1918.
Archer later married sculptor Anna Hyatt, and they founded Brookgreen Gardens sculpture center and nature reserve near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 1931. [2] Her large scale sculptures adorn the Audubon Terrace at the Hispanic Society of America in New York City on March 10, 1923. March 10 was both his and his bride's birthday. They then called March 10 "3 in 1 day" and it is still celebrated at Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. Archer and Anna had no children.[3]
Huntington is primarily known for his scholarly works in the field of Hispanic Studies and for founding The Hispanic Society of America in New York City. The society, founded in 1904, is a museum and rare books library whose collections of Hispanic materials are unrivaled outside of Spain.
In 1915, Huntington donated land on which the American Academy of Arts and Letters could construct a permanent New York City home.[4] The land was adjacent to the Hispanic Society. He also donated land and funds to relocate the Numismatic Society and the Museum of the American Indian to the same complex, Audubon Terrace.
In 1932 he donated land and helped to create Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, a public sculpture garden in which to display the figurative sculpture works of American sculptors, including many pieces by Anna Hyatt Huntington. A portion of Brookgreen Gardens are a nature reserve, and another section is leased to the state for Huntington Beach State Park. The gardens, historic plantation sites, and their adjacent residence 'Atalaya Castle' are a National Historic Landmark, and on the National Register of Historic Places. [2]
In that same year, working with Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company president Homer L. Ferguson, Huntington founded the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, one of the largest maritime museums in the world.
In 1936, Huntington created an endowment which established an annual stipend for a Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, now officially the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. In 2006, this stipend amounted to $40,000 per year, including a $35,000 salary and $5,000 in travel expenses.[5]
Huntington family members included several prominent cousins. The New York City architect Charles P. Huntington was one. [6] His cousin Henry E. Huntington founded the renowned The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in California.