Who Knew? The Haggin Museum

Shortly after I moved to Stockton, I started exploring the Internet, looking for things to do. I came across the web site for the Haggin Museum, and decided that it was something I needed to see.

But you know how it goes--work and gym time, chorale obligations and social stuff. With its limited hours of operation (Wednesday through Sunday, 1:30 to 5:00), it was difficult for me to find time to visit the museum. A few days ago, it occured to me: I'm on summer vacation. I have all kinds of time on my hands right now.

So today, I went to Haggin Museum. And it was marvelous.




It is set in a large park. I stopped to make sure they had all their ducks in a row.




The museum was built by the Haggin family, the patriarch of the family (I can't find his name mentioned on the web site; I'm recalling information a docent gave me this afternoon) was a prominent San Francisco businessman who had interests in Stockton. He decided Stockton should have a museum, and so the Haggin Museum building was built, and the collection started. It includes the largest collection of Albert Bierstadt paintings of any museum, anywhere.

Bierstadt (1830-1902) was an American painter known for his landscapes of the American West. Here's a couple of his paintings that are on hand at Haggin Museum:






Sophistication by Harry Wilson Watrous:


Still Life by Paul Gaugin (Gaugin! In Stockton!!)


La Toilette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Renior!! One of my favorites!! IN STOCKTON!!!)



The Nymphaeum (Nymphs Bathing) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau


The Far Hill by Jan Monchablon (I loved this because it looked almost like a photograph; the detail was amazing)


Some interior views:





And the resident mummy, who has resided at Haggin Museum since the 1940s, and who will return to his owners, the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums. Iret-net-Hor-irw is quite a popular presence in Stockton, I guess. I didn't know him well, but I might go to the special Mummies and Martinis event hosted by the museum to learn more about him.


I took a picture of a cute sign that says "Thanks for the Mummeries" but it was too dark in there, so it didn't turn out.

I made a quick run through the San Joaquin history portion of the museum--I was running low on time by then--stopping to take pictures of the man Stockton is named for...



...and a replica of Benjamin Holt's Experimental Shop.


Benjamin Holt invented the Caterpillar tractor, and now has a street named after him. It's a mouthful, Benjamin Holt Drive. It is mostly residential, but also has a small grocery store called Marina Market, a McDonalds, and a 24 Hour Fitness. It also happens to be my address.

I will definitely go back to this little gem of a museum. I have been to the Smithsonian, the Vatican Museums, the British Museum, the National Gallery of Art in London...these are fabulous museums, indeed. But I was enchanted by this small collection, put together in Stockton, of all places. The current special exhibition is African Art (alas, no pictures allowed!). Soon, there will be a special exhibition on Henri Mattisse.

Not bad for a cow town in Central California.