View source for Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

{{Short description|Design museum in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox museum
| name            = Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
| logo            = Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum logo.svg
| image           = Cooper Hewitt (48059131921).jpg
| caption         = Garden and entrance to Cooper Hewitt
| established     = 1897
|mapframe=yes
|mapframe-caption=Interactive fullscreen map
|mapframe-zoom=11
|mapframe-marker=museum
|mapframe-wikidata=yes
|coordinates={{WikidataCoord|display=it}}
| location        = [[Andrew Carnegie Mansion]]<br />[[Manhattan]], New York, United States
| publictransit   = [[New York City Bus|Bus]]: {{NYC bus link|M1|M2|M3|M4|M86|M96|M106}}<br />[[New York City Subway|Subway]]: {{NYCS trains|Lexington|time=bullets}} at [[86th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|86th Street]], {{NYCS trains|Lexington local day|time=bullets}} at [[96th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|96th Street]]
| website         = [http://www.cooperhewitt.org/ www.cooperhewitt.org]
}}

'''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 (New York City)|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 (New York City)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 6, 2014 |title=Plan Your Visit {{!}} Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |url=https://www.cooperhewitt.org/visit/plan-your-visit/ |access-date=January 12, 2023 |website=www.cooperhewitt.org |language=en-US |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605161811/https://www.cooperhewitt.org/visit/plan-your-visit/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=SIAHistory>{{cite web|title=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/history/cooper-hewitt-national-design-museum|work=Smithsonian History|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution Archives]]|access-date=May 25, 2012|archive-date=May 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528121644/http://siarchives.si.edu/history/cooper-hewitt-national-design-museum|url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
In 1895, several granddaughters of the politician and businessman [[Peter Cooper]]—[[Hewitt Sisters|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|Musée des Arts Décoratifs]], Paris and would serve as a place for Cooper Union students and professional designers to study [[decorative art]]s collections.<ref name="SIAHistory" /> Cooper Union's trustees provided the fourth floor of the Foundation Building.<ref name="p511412635">{{cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Marilyn |date=December 19, 1972 |title=Dynamic, innovative museum: A superb collection Multiple duties handled Traditional model thrown out |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=8 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|511412635}}}}</ref> It opened in 1897 as the "Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration".<ref name="Institution Lepore Pope Schrum 2019 p. 15">{{cite book |last1=Institution |first1=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_LsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15 |title=Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection |last2=Lepore |first2=J. |last3=Pope |first3=V. |last4=Schrum |first4=C. |publisher=Smithsonian |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-58834-665-0 |page=15 |access-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129012214/https://books.google.com/books?id=4_LsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Guérin 2012 p. 97">{{cite book |last=Guérin |first=Polly |author-link=Polly Guerin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ph2CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT97 |title=The Cooper-Hewitt Dynasty of New York |publisher=Arcadia Publishing Incorporated |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-61423-782-2 |page=97 |access-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129012212/https://books.google.com/books?id=5ph2CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT97 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> The museum was free and open to the public three days a week.<ref name=SIAHistory /><ref name=oldopen>{{cite news|title=A COOPER UNION MUSEUM; Founded by Granddaughters of Peter Cooper and Soon to be Opened to the Public. TO PROMOTE INDUSTRIAL ART Formed on the Model of the Famous Paris Musee Des Arts Decoratifs – To be Free to All, and No Restrictions – The Collection Cost Years of Effort.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/05/23/archives/a-cooper-union-museum-founded-by-granddaughters-of-peter-cooper-and.html?sq=cooper+hewitt+museum&scp=3&st=p|access-date=June 1, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 23, 1897}}</ref> The Hewitt sisters donated some of the objects that they owned to the museum.<ref name="n139715955">{{Cite news |last=Broadwater |first=Bowden |date=1966-11-23 |title=Nuggets Found in Quiet Corners |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-nuggets-found/139715955/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=Newsday |pages=67 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128032658/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-nuggets-found/139715955/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Early in the museum's history, the Cooper Union Museum received three textile collections from [[J. P. Morgan]] and drawings by [[Giovanni Baglione]].<ref name="p923052645">{{cite news |last=Wallach |first=Amei |date=17 May 1976 |title=Where design meets art: A Grand New Home For the Art of Design |work=Newsday |page=1A |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|923052645}}}}</ref> 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.<ref name=SIAHistory /> 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.<ref name="n139715955" /><ref name="n139712582">{{Cite news |last=Pahlmann |first=William |date=1963-11-19 |title=Many Join Hands to Save Cooper Union Museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-item-many-join-hands-to-save-c/139712582/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The Daily Item |pages=10 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129193750/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-item-many-join-hands-to-save-c/139712582/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="p923052645" />

==== Threats of closure ====
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.<ref name="SIAHistory" /> The Cooper Union announced in June 1963 that it was considering shuttering the museum completely,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1963-06-29 |title=Cooper Union Plans to Close Its Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/06/29/archives/cooper-union-plans-to-close-its-museum.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128020734/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/06/29/archives/cooper-union-plans-to-close-its-museum.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the museum closed on July 3, 1963.<ref name="LynesA">{{cite book|last=Lynes|first=Russell|title=More Than Meets the Eye. The History and Collections of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum|year=1981|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=0-87474-624-8|pages=38|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1031|access-date=June 1, 2012|archive-date=January 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103033401/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1031|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Doherty |first=Brian |date=July 4, 1963 |title=Museum Closing Draws Protests; Arts Leaders Oppose Plan Set by Cooper Union Relocation Study Begun |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/07/04/archives/museum-closing-draws-protests-arts-leaders-oppose-plan-set-by.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127222636/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/07/04/archives/museum-closing-draws-protests-arts-leaders-oppose-plan-set-by.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="n139712582" /> 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.<ref name="nyt-1967-10-10">{{Cite news |last=Knox |first=Sanka |date=1967-10-10 |title=Smithsonian Takes Over Cooper Union Museum; Unusual Transfer Ends Long Debate Design Collections to Stay Here Intact |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/10/10/archives/smithsonian-takes-over-cooper-union-museum-unusual-transfer-ends.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128032657/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/10/10/archives/smithsonian-takes-over-cooper-union-museum-unusual-transfer-ends.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A Committee to Save the Cooper Union Museum, formed by [[Henry Francis Du Pont]], threatened to sue to prevent the museum from closing.<ref name="p116310109">{{cite news |date=July 29, 1963 |title=Group Threatens Legal Action If Cooper Union Shuts Museum |work=The New York Times |page=16 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|116310109}}}}</ref> The committee requested that the Cooper Union's trustees split the museum off from the college's main operations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knox |first=Sanka |date=September 18, 1963 |title=New Organization Urged in Plan To Save Cooper Union Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/09/18/archives/new-organization-urged-in-plan-to-save-cooper-union-museum.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127222635/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/09/18/archives/new-organization-urged-in-plan-to-save-cooper-union-museum.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Another organization, the Greenwich Village Committee, was also formed in July 1963 to try to prevent the proposed relocation of the museum's collections.<ref name="nyt-1963-07-23">{{Cite news |date=1963-07-23 |title='Village' Battling To Keep Museum At Cooper Union |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/07/23/archives/village-battling-to-keep-museum-at-cooper-union.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128020734/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/07/23/archives/village-battling-to-keep-museum-at-cooper-union.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The museum reopened September 16, 1963, with its future still uncertain.<ref name="p116406014">{{cite news |date=September 16, 1963 |title=Cooper Museum to Reopen Today: but Future is Still in Doubt --villagers' Join Protests Maintenance Funds Lacking |work=The New York Times |page=21 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|116406014}}}}</ref> That November, the Cooper Union accepted the [[American Alliance of Museums|American Association of Museums]]' offer to conduct a study on the future of the museum.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knox |first=Sanka |date=1963-11-14 |title=Cooper Museum Accepts a Study; Trustees Approve an Offer by American Association Other Representatives Listed Meeting Held Yesterday |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/11/14/archives/cooper-museum-accepts-a-study-trustees-approve-an-offer-by-american.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128032658/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/11/14/archives/cooper-museum-accepts-a-study-trustees-approve-an-offer-by-american.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], which was [[The Met Fifth Avenue|located nearby]], offered to take over all of the museum's holdings.<ref name="p511412635" /> By 1965, the [[Smithsonian Institution]] had begun negotiating to take over the museum from the Cooper Union.<ref name="nyt-1965-06-04">{{Cite news |last=Knox |first=Sanka |date=1965-06-04 |title=Smithsonian May Gain Custody Of the Cooper Union Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/06/04/archives/smithsonian-may-gain-custody-of-the-cooper-union-museum.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128032656/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/06/04/archives/smithsonian-may-gain-custody-of-the-cooper-union-museum.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At the time, the institution was rapidly expanding the number of artworks and artifacts in its other museums.<ref name="nyt-1966-05-30">{{Cite news |last=Glueck |first=Grace |date=1966-05-30 |title=Smithsonian Widens Art Vistas; Cluster of Museums Emerging as Great National Center |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/30/archives/smithsonian-widens-art-vistas-cluster-of-museums-emerging-as-great.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128032657/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/30/archives/smithsonian-widens-art-vistas-cluster-of-museums-emerging-as-great.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Smithsonian operation ===

==== 1960s and 1970s ====
On October 9, 1967, Smithsonian Secretary [[S. Dillon Ripley]] and Daniel Maggin, the chair of the [[Board of directors|board of trustees]], signed an agreement turning over the collection and library of the museum to the Smithsonian.<ref name="SIAHistory" /><ref name="nyt-1967-10-10" /> 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.<ref name="nyt-1967-10-10" /> 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.<ref name="nyt-1967-10-05">{{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Douglas |date=October 5, 1967 |title=Mansion Sought by Smithsonian; Negotiations On for Use of Carnegie House Here |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/10/05/archives/mansion-sought-by-smithsonian-negotiations-on-for-use-of-carnegie.html |access-date=January 23, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123013305/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/10/05/archives/mansion-sought-by-smithsonian-negotiations-on-for-use-of-carnegie.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The mansion was five times as large as the museum's Cooper Union space.<ref name="p143664379">{{cite news |last=Richard |first=Paul |date=20 Aug 1969 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Museum: New Tenant in an Old Mansion |work=The Washington Post, Times Herald |page=B1 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|143664379}}}}</ref> The [[New York Supreme Court]] approved the agreement on May 14, 1968.<ref name="SIAHistory" /> 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.<ref name="p143329786a">{{cite news |date=1 July 1968 |title=Happening: Rent-a-Chateau Lady Bird Blossoms... Harbour for HHH... Beach Blast... Whose Bag? Haute Habits.... |work=The Washington Post, Times Herald |page=C5 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|143329786}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=1968-07-02 |title=Director is Named for Design Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/07/02/archives/director-is-named-for-design-museum.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128032656/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/07/02/archives/director-is-named-for-design-museum.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Wunder planned to obtain objects from around the world.<ref name="p1515212848">{{Cite news |last=Secrest |first=Meryle |date=14 July 1968 |title=Museum of Design Plans Items From Other Nations |work=The Austin Statesman |page=C16 |id={{ProQuest|1515212848}}}}</ref> Despite being part of the Smithsonian Institution, the Cooper Hewitt still did not have enough cash to sustain its own operations.<ref name="p538327315">{{Cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Marilyn |date=19 Dec 1976 |title=13-year effort saves museum |work=The Sun |page=D25 |id={{ProQuest|538327315}}}}</ref>

In 1969, it was renamed again to the '''Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design'''.<ref name="SIAHistory" /> Ripley leased the Carnegie Mansion from the [[Carnegie Corporation of New York]] in September 1969.<ref name="nyt-1969-09-13">{{Cite news |last=Reif |first=Rita |date=September 13, 1969 |title=The Mansion That Became a School Will Become a Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/09/13/archives/the-mansion-that-became-a-school-will-become-a-museum.html |access-date=January 23, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123013307/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/09/13/archives/the-mansion-that-became-a-school-will-become-a-museum.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p156236831">{{cite news |date=September 12, 1969 |title=Carnegie Mansion in Smithsonian's Hands |work=Los Angeles Times |page=F8 |issn=0458-3035 |id={{ProQuest|156236831}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=September 13, 1969 |title=Carnegie Mansion to Be Museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition/81823543/ |access-date=January 25, 2024 |work=Newsday |pages=34 |issn=2574-5298 |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123023713/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition/81823543/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lisa Taylor (museum administrator)|Lisa Taylor]] became the Cooper-Hewitt's director that October,<ref name="taylor1">{{cite web |title=Lisa Taylor Named Director of Cooper-Hewitt |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1034 |access-date=May 27, 2012 |work=Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1970 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives |archive-date=January 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103033437/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1034 |url-status=live }}</ref> the first woman to serve in that position.<ref name="p1445577648">{{cite magazine |last=Mattera |first=Joanne |date=Feb 1, 1984 |title=Eyeview: Lisa Taylor: Collecting The Past |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |pages=44 |volume=147 |issue=22 |id={{ProQuest|1445577648}}}}</ref> The museum, which was the first Smithsonian museum outside of Washington, D.C., moved to its home at the Carnegie Mansion in 1970.<ref name="SIAHistory" /> The museum obtained the mansion outright in 1972.<ref name="The New York Times 1972 v693">{{cite web |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |date=April 1, 1972 |title=Carnegie House Given to Cooper-Hewitt Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/01/archives/carnegie-house-given-to-cooperhewitt-museum-carnegie-house-given-to.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118193335/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/01/archives/carnegie-house-given-to-cooperhewitt-museum-carnegie-house-given-to.html |archive-date=January 18, 2024 |access-date=January 18, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="p148256081">{{cite news |date=2 Jan 1972 |title=Museum Pieces in N.Y. Exhibit |work=The Washington Post, Times Herald |page=G1 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|148256081}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Marvin D. |date=1972-01-22 |title=Antiques: A Foretaste Cooper — Hewitt Museum's Display at Show Is Glimpse of Its Collection |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/22/archives/antiques-a-foretaste-cooperhewitt-museums-display-at-show-is.html |access-date=2024-01-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129012223/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/22/archives/antiques-a-foretaste-cooperhewitt-museums-display-at-show-is.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="p538327315" /> The museum had 35 paid staff and 72 volunteers by 1976, and it received $258,000 annually in federal funding.<ref name="p146482171" /> In addition, the museum planned to raise money through events, donations, and membership fees.<ref name="p538327315" />

A [[soft opening]] for the museum took place in May 1976.<ref name="p923052645" /> The museum opened to the public on October 7, 1976,{{Efn|The Cooper-Hewitt website gives date of opening as October 6, 1976.<ref name="reopen76"/> ''Torch'', October 1976, gives date as October 7, 1976, which is corroborated by other media sources from that time.<ref name="p920955552"/><ref name="Goldberger 1976 j059"/>}}<ref name="p920955552">{{cite news |last=Wallach |first=Amei |date=October 8, 1976 |title=Some Grand Designs: The Cooper-Hewitt Museum's bold look at the world |work=Newsday |page=1A |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|920955552}}}}</ref><ref name="Goldberger 1976 j059">{{cite web |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=October 8, 1976 |title=Cooper-Hewitt's Gamble |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/08/archives/cooperhewitts-gamble.html |access-date=January 25, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125224334/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/08/archives/cooperhewitts-gamble.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with the exhibition "MAN transFORMs".<ref name="reopen76">{{cite web|title=Cooper-Hewitt Museum Reopens|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1111|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104123114/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1111|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p122544717">{{cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |date=3 Oct 1976 |title=Architectural View: The 'Miracle' Of Cooper-Hewitt Cooper-Hewitt |work=The New York Times |page=93 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|122544717}}}}</ref> Other museums around the city hosted exhibitions to celebrate the Cooper-Hewitt's opening.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1976-10-08 |title=Salutes to New Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/08/archives/salutes-to-new-museum.html |access-date=2024-02-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Taylor and renovation architect [[Hugh Hardy]] planned to convert the mansion's basements into exhibit space,<ref name="n139555936">{{Cite news |last=Wallach |first=Amei |date=May 17, 1976 |title=A Grand New Home for the Art of Design |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-a-grand-new-hom/139555936/ |access-date=January 25, 2024 |work=Newsday |pages=84, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-a-grand-new-hom/139556029/ 85], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-a-grand-new-hom/139556054/ 86] |issn=2574-5298 |archive-date=January 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125224336/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-a-grand-new-hom/139555936/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and they also planned a new auditorium, galleries, classrooms, and screening rooms.<ref name="p146482171">{{cite news |last=Conroy |first=Sarah Booth |date=October 3, 1976 |title=In Celebration of The Decorative Arts At the Cooper-Hewitt: Form and Function In Celebration of The Decorative Arts At the Cooper-Hewitt |newspaper=The Washington Post |pages=E1, E2 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|146482171}}}}</ref><ref name="p511899350">{{cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Marilyn |date=October 28, 1976 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Museum saves decorative arts: Lisa Taylor More funding |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=24 |id={{ProQuest|511899350}}}}</ref> A [[Conservation and restoration#The conservation laboratory|conservation laboratory]] was opened in July 1978. The [[Samuel H. Kress Foundation]] funded the lab and it focuses on textile and paper conservation.<ref name="lab">{{cite web|title=Conservation Labs Open at Cooper-Hewitt|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1434|work=Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1978, p. 13|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104123301/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1434|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time of the Cooper-Hewitt's reopening, it was the only museum in the U.S. that was dedicated exclusively to design.<ref name="p512275345">{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Madeline |date=November 16, 1981 |title=New York's small, exquisite museums |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=B3 |id={{ProQuest|512275345}}}}</ref><ref name="n139571266">{{Cite news |last=Herzig |first=Doris |date=November 15, 1983 |title=Running a larger-than-life museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-running-a-larg/139571266/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128090809/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-running-a-larg/139571266/ |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |access-date=January 26, 2024 |work=Newsday |pages=147}}</ref>
==== 1980s and 1990s ====
The Cooper-Hewitt launched a [[master's degree]] program in conjunction with the [[Parsons School of Design]] in 1982.<ref name="n139571266" /><ref name="nyt-1982-04-29">{{Cite news |last=Slesin |first=Susan |date=1982-04-29 |title=Cooper-Hewitt, Parsons Offer Master's Program |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/29/garden/cooper-hewitt-parsons-offer-master-s-program.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Under Taylor's leadership, the museum also began offering additional educational programs both for adults and for children.<ref name="n139571266" /> In the eight years after the Cooper-Hewitt reopened, it hosted over 100 temporary exhibitions.<ref name="p1445577648" /> Lisa Taylor announced her retirement in 1987,<ref>{{Cite news |last=McQuiston |first=John T. |date=February 19, 1987 |title=Director of Cooper-Hewitt Plans to Resign |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/19/arts/director-of-cooper-hewitt-plans-to-resign.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127205247/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/19/arts/director-of-cooper-hewitt-plans-to-resign.html |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Forgey |first=Benjamin |date=February 19, 1987 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Director Resigning |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/02/19/cooper-hewitt-director-resigning/071d7b05-91f7-42de-aabc-2e2e6e664d3c/ |access-date=January 27, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and the Cooper-Hewitt celebrated the tenth anniversary of its occupancy of the Carnegie Mansion shortly thereafter.<ref name="Giovannini 1987">{{cite web |last=Giovannini |first=Joseph |date=March 5, 1987 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Looks Back, Then Ahead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/05/garden/cooper-hewitt-looks-back-then-ahead.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126174811/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/05/garden/cooper-hewitt-looks-back-then-ahead.html |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Saltman |first=David |date=November 24, 1986 |title=10 Years of Design |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/11/24/10-years-of-design/7d0fb53d-c8bd-499d-a1af-19248bae7bd7/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> At the time, in contrast to most Smithsonian museums, the Cooper-Hewitt relied on the Smithsonian for only one-third of its annual budget.<ref name=":0" />  [[Dianne H. Pilgrim]] became the director in 1988,<ref name="pilgrim">{{cite web|title=Pilgrim Becomes Director, C/H|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_2077|work=Record Unit 371, Box 5, "The Torch", October 1988, p. 1|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129193752/https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_2077|url-status=live}}</ref> and the museum was again renamed to '''Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum''' that year.<ref name="SIAHistory" /> 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.<ref name="wp-1994-03-12" />

The Smithsonian bought the McAlpin-Minot House at 11 East 90th Street in 1989 for $3.6 million,<ref name="Smith 1996 g8662">{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Dinitia |date=August 22, 1996 |title=Renovation Of Museum Opens Door For Director |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/22/arts/renovation-of-museum-opens-door-for-director.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126221654/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/22/arts/renovation-of-museum-opens-door-for-director.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and it connected that house to the Carnegie Mansion and 9 East 90th Street.<ref name="Gray 2012 x889">{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=March 1, 2012 |title=A Block With Andrew Carnegie's Stamp |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/realestate/streetscapes-upper-east-side-a-block-with-andrew-carnegies-stamp.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126205544/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/realestate/streetscapes-upper-east-side-a-block-with-andrew-carnegies-stamp.html |url-status=live }}</ref> An archive of African American designs was created at the museum in 1991.<ref name="p367914027">{{Cite news |date=23 Nov 1991 |title=African-American Design Archive Established at Cooper-Hewitt |work=Big Red News |page=8 |id={{ProQuest|367914027}}}}</ref> Pilgrim hired [[James Polshek|James Stewart Polshek Partners]] to devise plans for a further renovation of the Cooper-Hewitt buildings.<ref name="Smith 1996 g8662" /><ref name="wp-1994-03-12">{{Cite news |last=Forgey |first=Benjamin |date=March 12, 1994 |title=At Cooper-Hewitt, Pilgrim's Progress |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/03/12/at-cooper-hewitt-pilgrims-progress/9b2b119b-f52a-4cde-a8b7-e04b8c6f002b/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The project was initially planned to cost $10 million,<ref name="p307810931">{{cite news |last=Elving |first=Belle |date=September 22, 1994 |title=Putting Design Front and Center |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=T05 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|307810931}}}}</ref> but Smithsonian secretary [[Michael Heyman]] placed the plans on hold in late 1994 due to cost overruns.<ref name="Smith 1996 g8662" /><ref name="wp-1994-03-12" /> The budget ultimately increased to $20 million;<ref name="wp-1998-06-13">{{Cite news |last=Forgey |first=Benjamin |date=June 13, 1998 |title=Design Museum's Pattern for Success |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/06/13/design-museums-pattern-for-success/397cc80f-53e4-48ac-a48f-e796bcb8e154/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827070801/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/06/13/design-museums-pattern-for-success/397cc80f-53e4-48ac-a48f-e796bcb8e154/ |url-status=live }}</ref> this consisted of a $13 million allocation from the Smithsonian and $7 million from private sources.<ref name="n139617006">{{Cite news |date=May 4, 1995 |title=Sale of historic house will benefit NYC museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-item-sale-of-historic-house-wi/139617006/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |work=The Daily Item |pages=43 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126210433/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-item-sale-of-historic-house-wi/139617006/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ross2">{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Nancy L. |date=May 18, 1995 |title=Designs on Cooper-Hewitt |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=T.05 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|307892667}}}}</ref> The museum's logo was changed in late 1994 to emphasize the word "design".<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 22, 1994 |title=A Graphic Change For Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/22/garden/a-graphic-change-for-cooper-hewitt.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127222635/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/22/garden/a-graphic-change-for-cooper-hewitt.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Pilgrim announced in May 1995 that the exhibition galleries in the Carnegie Mansion would close for renovation,<ref name="n139626123">{{Cite news |date=May 24, 1995 |title=Museum plans major renovation |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-times-museum-plans-major-renov/139626123/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |work=The Daily Times |pages=27 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126230542/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-times-museum-plans-major-renov/139626123/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Vogel 1995 b986">{{cite web |last=Vogel |first=Carol |date=May 19, 1995 |title=Inside Art |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/19/arts/inside-art.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126205544/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/19/arts/inside-art.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the renovation commenced that August.<ref name="nyt-1995-10-15">{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Andrew |date=October 15, 1995 |title=Neighborhood Report: Blueprint; Carnegie Mansion Exposed, but Only Briefly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/15/nyregion/neighborhood-report-blueprint-carnegie-mansion-exposed-but-only-briefly.html |access-date=January 20, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120014100/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/15/nyregion/neighborhood-report-blueprint-carnegie-mansion-exposed-but-only-briefly.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Carnegie Mansion's first-floor exhibit space reopened in September 1996,<ref name="p227770909">{{Cite magazine |last=Barreneche |first=Raul A. |date=Oct 1996 |title=Renovated Cooper-Hewitt reopens |magazine=Architecture: The AIA Journal |page=43 |volume=85 |issue=10 |id={{ProQuest|227770909}}}}</ref><ref name="Muschamp 1996 u413">{{cite web |last=Muschamp |first=Herbert |date=September 20, 1996 |title=A Reopening And a Carnival Of Graphics |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/20/arts/a-reopening-and-a-carnival-of-graphics.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231023638/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/20/arts/a-reopening-and-a-carnival-of-graphics.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Work on the passageway and design resources center continued through 1997,<ref name="p227770909" /> and the renovation was not completed until 1998.<ref name="wp-1998-06-13" /><ref name="n139624401">{{Cite news |last=Gouveia |first=Georgette |date=February 3, 1998 |title=Cooper-Hewitt polishes up its image |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-cooper-hewitt-polishes/139624401/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |work=The Journal News |pages=19, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-cooper-hewitt-polishes/139624506/ 21] |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126230543/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-cooper-hewitt-polishes/139624401/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 2000s ====
Pilgrim retired from the museum in 2000,<ref name="pilgrim2">{{cite web|title=Dianne H. Pilgrim, Director, Cooper-Hewitt|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9095|work=2002-32296|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 29, 2012|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121458/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9095|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Paul W. Thompson]] was named as the new director later that year.<ref name="Iovine">{{cite web |last=Iovine |first=Julie V. |date=September 28, 2000 |title=Reimagining A Design Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/28/garden/reimagining-a-design-museum.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013142923/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/28/garden/reimagining-a-design-museum.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hales 2000 j789">{{cite news |last=Hales |first=Linda |date=September 26, 2000 |title=Londoner to Head Cooper-Hewitt Museum |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/09/26/londoner-to-head-cooper-hewitt-museum/8ab0afc4-e968-4577-abf3-cb4ac263d21f/ |access-date=January 29, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Iovine" /> Upon becoming the museum's director, Thompson sought to display modern design pieces at the Cooper-Hewitt.<ref name="Hales 2002 v307">{{cite news |last=Hales |first=Linda |date=October 26, 2002 |title=Reinventing the Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/10/26/reinventing-the-cooper-hewitt/77a47ab8-d5a8-45cd-9acb-0a2dce7c1512/ |access-date=January 29, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> 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.<ref name="nyt-2002-08-06">{{Cite news |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=2002-08-06 |title=For Cooper-Hewitt, a Defining Moment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/arts/for-cooper-hewitt-a-defining-moment.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129000725/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/arts/for-cooper-hewitt-a-defining-moment.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="nyt-2002-06-25">{{Cite news |last=Bohlen |first=Celestine |date=2002-06-25 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Shake-Up And Layoffs Reverberate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/25/arts/cooper-hewitt-shake-up-and-layoffs-reverberate.html |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129000724/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/25/arts/cooper-hewitt-shake-up-and-layoffs-reverberate.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, over a dozen senior staff members resigned during 2001 and 2002,<ref name="nyt-2002-08-06" /> citing dissatisfaction with the [[work culture]].<ref name="nyt-2002-06-25" /> 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.<ref name="nyt-2002-08-06" />

Thompson originally did not want to expand the museum, but he changed his mind after the museum experienced staffing, budgetary, and exhibit shortages.<ref name="Iovine 2003 n403">{{cite web |last=Iovine |first=Julie V. |date=December 22, 2003 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Museum Tries Redesigning Itself |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/22/arts/cooper-hewitt-museum-tries-redesigning-itself.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126233337/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/22/arts/cooper-hewitt-museum-tries-redesigning-itself.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The museum announced plans in mid-2003 to rearrange galleries,<ref name="wp-2005-02-18">{{Cite news |last=Hales |first=Linda |date=February 18, 2005 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Has Designs on Expansion |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2005/02/18/cooper-hewitt-has-designs-on-expansion/c460d0d3-8d35-44bd-9d3c-390fbd6f8154/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Iovine 2003 n403" /><ref name="p420071456">{{cite news |last=Iovine |first=Julie V. |date=January 11, 2004 |title=Cooper-Hewitt faces a remake; With new infusion of cash, board hopes to raise museum's profile |work=Chicago Tribune |page=10 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|420071456}}}}</ref>  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.<ref name="wp-2005-02-18"/><ref name="Pogrebin 2005 x727">{{cite web |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=February 17, 2005 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Proposes $75 Million Expansion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/arts/design/cooperhewitt-proposes-75-million-expansion.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126233339/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/arts/design/cooperhewitt-proposes-75-million-expansion.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The basement levels would also have contained a restaurant, conservation rooms, and exhibit-preparation areas.<ref name="wp-2005-02-18" /> Beyer Blinder Belle proposed a revised plan in 2006, which was to cost $25 million.<ref name="Pogrebin 2006 y909">{{cite web |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=May 25, 2006 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Museum Chooses a More Modest Growth Design |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/25/arts/design/25coop.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126205545/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/25/arts/design/25coop.html |url-status=live }}</ref> That year, the museum launched a [[capital campaign]] to raise funds for the renovation and the museum's [[Financial endowment|endowment]];<ref name="Cohen 2013 b967">{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Patricia |date=October 3, 2013 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Museum Gets $5 Million for Renovation |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/cooper-hewitt-museum-gets-5-million-for-renovation/ |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=ArtsBeat |postscript=none |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126233337/https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/cooper-hewitt-museum-gets-5-million-for-renovation/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |date=October 4, 2013 |title=Star Gazing: Cooper-Hewitt Museum gets $5M for renovation |url=https://www.recordonline.com/story/entertainment/local/2013/10/04/star-gazing-cooper-hewitt-museum/42769239007/ |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=Times Herald-Record |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127022158/https://www.recordonline.com/story/entertainment/local/2013/10/04/star-gazing-cooper-hewitt-museum/42769239007/ |url-status=live }}</ref> it had raised $21.5 million by April 2007.<ref name="Edidin 2007 v113">{{cite web |last=Edidin |first=Peter |date=April 14, 2007 |title=Arts, Briefly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/arts/14arts.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127010150/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/arts/14arts.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Cooper-Hewitt hired [[Gluckman Mayner Architects]] to design the renovation,<ref name="Edidin 2007 v113" /><ref name="p234963755">{{cite magazine |last=Block |first=Annie |date=Aug 2007 |title=Museums on the Boards |magazine=  Interior Design |page=44 |volume=78 |issue=10 |id={{ProQuest|234963755}}}}</ref> along with Beyer Blinder Belle as preservation consultants.<ref name="wp-2014-11-30">{{Cite news |last=Kennicott |first=Philip |date=November 30, 2014 |title=Cooper Hewitt design museum's artful renovation matches mansion to mission |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/cooper-hewitt-design-museums-artful-renovation-matches-mansion-to-mission/2014/11/26/10ccbfd6-741e-11e4-9c9f-a37e29e80cd5_story.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320111327/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/cooper-hewitt-design-museums-artful-renovation-matches-mansion-to-mission/2014/11/26/10ccbfd6-741e-11e4-9c9f-a37e29e80cd5_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By October 2008, the cost of the project had increased to $64 million.<ref name="Pogrebin 2008 i054">{{cite web |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=October 6, 2008 |title=Expansion Plans at Cooper-Hewitt Museum Will Spruce Up Museum Mile |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/arts/design/07coop.html |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127000057/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/arts/design/07coop.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Naidoo |first=Ridhika |date=October 7, 2008 |title=Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Museum Renovation Plans Announced |url=https://www.designboom.com/architecture/smithsonian-cooper-hewitt-museum-renovation-plans-announced/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=designboom |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127000058/https://www.designboom.com/architecture/smithsonian-cooper-hewitt-museum-renovation-plans-announced/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Smithsonian began renovating the two townhouses on 90th Street in 2008,<ref name="p2729745261">{{cite news |last=Maloney |first=Jennifer |date=December 8, 2011 |title=Redo for Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203413304577084672834454612 |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=A26 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|2729745261}} |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127010150/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203413304577084672834454612 |url-status=live }}</ref> with plans to relocate the museum's offices from the mansion to the townhouses.<ref name="p410374519">{{cite news |last=Trescott |first=Jacqueline |date=January 7, 2010 |title=Designer of the first laptop to head the Cooper-Hewitt Museum |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=C.3 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|410374519}}}}</ref>  In July 2009, Thompson left the museum to become the rector of the [[Royal College of Art]].<ref name="pogrebin">{{cite news |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=January 6, 2010 |title=Cooper-Hewitt Picks Director, First Designer in Job |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/arts/design/07museum.html |access-date=May 30, 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=November 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105225724/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/arts/design/07museum.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 2010s to present ====
[[Bill Moggridge]], a co-founder of [[IDEO]] and designer of the first [[laptop]] computer, served as Cooper-Hewitt's director in January 2011.<ref name="pogrebin" /><ref name="p410374519"/> The Carnegie Mansion was closed to the public in July 2011, during which the museum held exhibitions at the [[headquarters of the United Nations]]<ref name="Cary">{{cite news |last=Cary |first=John |date=November 11, 2011 |title=Cooper-Hewitt's 90% Exhibition Occupies the UN |url=http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2011/11/Cooper-Hewitt-Exhibition.asp |access-date=June 7, 2012 |newspaper=Architectural Record |archive-date=January 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127114215/http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2011/11/Cooper-Hewitt-Exhibition.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> and on [[Governors Island]].<ref name="Zeaman">{{cite news |last=Zeaman |first=John |date=May 30, 2012 |title=Art review: 'Graphic Design – Now in Production' |url=http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/155587235_Sheer_design.html |access-date=May 30, 2012 |newspaper=The Record |archive-date=June 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611034305/http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/155587235_Sheer_design.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  The museum opened a new online retail shop in 2012.<ref name="murg">{{cite news|last=Murg|first=Stephanie|title=Cooper-Hewitt Launches Newly Designed Online Shop|url=https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/cooper-hewitt-launches-newly-designed-online-shop/|access-date=May 30, 2012|newspaper=Media Bistro|date=May 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525093742/http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/cooper-hewitt-launches-newly-designed-online-shop_b21141|archive-date=May 25, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> That year, the Cooper-Hewitt created an additional space in [[Harlem]] as an education facility. Designer [[Todd Oldham]] donated design services for the space.<ref name="feiden">{{cite news|last=Feiden|first=Daniel|title=Cooper-Hewitt Museum to open Harlem satellite while main branch of design museum undergoes renovation|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-05-03/news/31560580_1_design-museum-design-process-east-harlem|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130125036/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-05-03/news/31560580_1_design-museum-design-process-east-harlem|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 30, 2013|access-date=May 30, 2012|newspaper=Daily News|date=May 3, 2012}}</ref><ref name="The Real Deal 2012 i262">{{cite web |date=April 23, 2012 |title=Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2012/04/23/cooper-hewitt-to-open-in-east-harlem-next-month/ |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127213529/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2012/04/23/cooper-hewitt-to-open-in-east-harlem-next-month/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After Moggridge's death in 2012,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lasky |first=Julie |date=September 10, 2012 |title=Why 'User Friendly' Is So Friendly: A Tribute to Bill Moggridge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/garden/tributes-to-bill-moggridge-cooper-hewitt-director.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127205247/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/garden/tributes-to-bill-moggridge-cooper-hewitt-director.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Caroline Baumann]] was named as the museum's director in June 2013.<ref name="Maggio 2013 g739">{{cite web |last=Maggio |first=Vincenza Di |date=June 6, 2013 |title=Baumann Named Cooper-Hewitt Director |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2013/06/baumann-named-cooper-hewitt-director/ |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=The Architect's Newspaper |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194425/https://www.archpaper.com/2013/06/baumann-named-cooper-hewitt-director/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Artforum 2013 r760">{{cite web |date=June 6, 2013 |title=Caroline Baumann Named Director of Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/caroline-baumann-named-director-of-cooper-hewitt-216837/ |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=Artforum |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127205247/https://www.artforum.com/news/caroline-baumann-named-director-of-cooper-hewitt-216837/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2014, the museum's name was changed again to '''Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cooper Hewitt Announces Launch of New Graphic Identity, Typeface and Website |url=http://www.cooperhewitt.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/03.-CH_Brand-Press-Release.pdf |access-date=August 27, 2015 |publisher=Cooper Hewitt |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210541/http://www.cooperhewitt.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/03.-CH_Brand-Press-Release.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=June 16, 2014 |title=The Redesign of a Design Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/17/arts/design/renovating-the-cooper-hewitt-national-design-museum.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127022158/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/17/arts/design/renovating-the-cooper-hewitt-national-design-museum.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A new graphic identity, [[wordmark]], and new website were launched on this day. The identity was designed by Eddie Opara of Pentagram.<ref name="new.pentagram.com">{{cite web |title=Pentagram – the world's largest independent design consultancy |url=http://new.pentagram.com/2014/06/preview-cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum/ |website=Pentagram |access-date=June 21, 2014 |archive-date=June 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621231259/http://new.pentagram.com/2014/06/preview-cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The website was developed by Matcha Labs.<ref name="new.pentagram.com" /> On December 12, 2014, the Cooper Hewitt reopened to the public.<ref name="nyt-2014-12-11">{{Cite news |last=Cotter |first=Holland |date=December 11, 2014 |title=Newly Playful, by Design |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/arts/design/cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum-reopens.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127022159/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/arts/design/cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum-reopens.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Stamp">{{cite web |last1=Stamp |first1=Elizabeth |date=November 30, 2014 |title=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Reopens |url=http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/daily/2014/12/cooper-hewitt-opening |access-date=December 12, 2014 |website=Architectural Digest |publisher=Conde Nast |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402164502/http://www.architecturaldigest.com/blogs/daily/2014/12/cooper-hewitt-opening |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 license|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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 17, 2015|title=Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum: reinventing the pen|url=https://museumsandheritage.com/advisor/posts/cooper-hewitt-the-major-renovation-and-reinventing-the-pen/|access-date=Nov 4, 2024}}</ref> 

In 2015, the terrace and garden renovations were completed and opened to the public, with design led by [[Walter Hood]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = The Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden {{!}} Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum|url = http://www.cooperhewitt.org/about/the-arthur-ross-terrace-and-garden-design-in-progress/|website = Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum|access-date = December 14, 2015|archive-date = December 20, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151220153413/http://www.cooperhewitt.org/about/the-arthur-ross-terrace-and-garden-design-in-progress/|url-status = live}}</ref> 
The Cooper Hewitt hired conservator [[Cass Fino-Radin]] in 2016 to review the museum's digital collection, a process which took two years.<ref name="nyt-2023-10-17">{{Cite news |last1=Moffitt |first1=Evan |last2=Terna |first2=Daniel |date=2023-10-17 |title=What Happens When an Artist's Technology Becomes Obsolete? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/t-magazine/technology-art-ctl-electronics.html |access-date=2024-01-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117061252/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/t-magazine/technology-art-ctl-electronics.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Baumann resigned as director in February 2020, following an investigation by the Smithsonian's inspector general concerning her wedding<ref name="Gibson 2020 r238">{{cite web |last=Gibson |first=Eleanor |date=February 10, 2020 |title=Cooper Hewitt director Caroline Baumann resigns |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2020/02/10/cooper-hewitt-director-caroline-baumann-resigns/ |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=Dezeen |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127205248/https://www.dezeen.com/2020/02/10/cooper-hewitt-director-caroline-baumann-resigns/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Nast 2020 b051">{{cite web |date=February 10, 2020 |title=Caroline Baumann Steps Down as Director of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/caroline-baumann-steps-down-as-director-of-the-cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=Architectural Digest |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194423/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/caroline-baumann-steps-down-as-director-of-the-cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum |url-status=live }}</ref> to John Stewart Malcolmson in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Reyes |first=Nina |date=September 22, 2018 |title=Good Design With a Mix of Chemistry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/fashion/weddings/good-design-with-a-mix-of-chemistry.html |access-date=April 12, 2021 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110005532/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/fashion/weddings/good-design-with-a-mix-of-chemistry.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  In response, several of the museum's board member threatened to resign, claiming Baumann had been improperly forced out.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=February 14, 2020 |title=Cooper Hewitt Chief Was Forced Out After Probe of Her Wedding |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/arts/design/caroline-baumann-cooper-hewitt-smithsonian.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227193722/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/arts/design/caroline-baumann-cooper-hewitt-smithsonian.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 2022, [[Maria Nicanor]] was appointed as the museum's director.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=February 8, 2022 |title=Cooper Hewitt Design Museum Gets a New Director |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/arts/design/cooper-hewitt-director-maria-nicanor.html |access-date=January 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208173729/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/arts/design/cooper-hewitt-director-maria-nicanor.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mitchell 2022 d142">{{cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Bea |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Smithsonian announces new director for Cooper Hewitt Design Museum |url=https://blooloop.com/museum/news/cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-museum-new-director/ |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=Blooloop |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127205247/https://blooloop.com/museum/news/cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-museum-new-director/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Collection ==
[[File:Lincoln Chair at the Cooper Union Museum.jpg|thumb|left|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.<ref name=oldopen /> The museum has more than 200,000 objects in its collection {{As of|2024|lc=y}},<ref name="Nast 2021 x534">{{cite web |first=John |last=Wogan |date=February 11, 2021 |title=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum — Museum Review |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/activities/new-york/cooper-hewitt |access-date=February 16, 2024 |website=Condé Nast Traveler}}</ref> although estimates range as high as 250,000.<ref name="p307380390" /><ref name="p2316164674">{{cite news |last=Sherman |first=Beth |date=28 Mar 1991 |title=A Design Collection on a Grand Scale |work=Newsday |page=84 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|2316164674}}}}</ref> These range from [[matchbook]]s to [[shopping bag]]s, [[porcelain]] from the [[Soviet Union]], and the papers of graphic designer [[Tibor Kalman]].<ref name="Iovine" /> 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.<ref name="metal">{{cite web|title=Cooper Union Museum's Metalwork Gallery|url=http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=A3N81606360J8.743&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!5791~!3&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=cooper-hewitt,+national+design+museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+image|work=Record Unit 267, Box 35, Folder: Museum – Historiography|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=March 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328085738/http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=A3N81606360J8.743&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!5791~!3&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=cooper-hewitt,+national+design+museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+image|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="iron">{{cite web|title=Ironworks Gallery at Cooper Union Museum|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9123|work=95-20299|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=March 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328131809/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9123|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Visual art collection ===
The museum holds the world's largest collection of works on paper by [[Hudson River School]] painter [[Frederic Edwin Church]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2013/05/04/a-frequently-asked-question/|title=A Frequently Asked Question|last=Davidson|first=Gail|date=May 4, 2013|website=Cooper Hewitt|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194429/https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2013/05/04/a-frequently-asked-question/|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1976, the museum's collection included 200 [[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo|Tiepolo]] paintings, 2,000 F. E. Church sketches, and a large number of [[Winslow Homer]] drawings.<ref name="p146482171" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-07-10 |title=It's in Sistine Condition |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-its-in-sistine/139776165/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129013547/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-its-in-sistine/139776165/ |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=Newsday |pages=10 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last1=Kimmelman |first1=Michael |last2=Jeromack |first2=Paul |date=2002-07-10 |title=Expert Spots a 'Michelangelo' in an Old Box |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/10/arts/expert-spots-a-michelangelo-in-an-old-box.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129000753/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/10/arts/expert-spots-a-michelangelo-in-an-old-box.html |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Furniture collection ===
The Cooper Hewitt also has a large furniture collection.<ref name="Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum 2014 l728">{{cite web |date=December 30, 2014 |title=Furniture in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum |url=https://www.cooperhewitt.org/publications/furniture-in-the-collection-of-the-cooper-hewitt-museum/ |access-date=February 16, 2024 |website=Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum}}</ref> Some of the objects include a chair used by [[Abraham Lincoln]] during a visit to the Cooper Union,<ref name="lincoln">{{cite web|title=Lincoln Chair at the Cooper Union Museum|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_5793|work=SIA2011-2175 and 95-20289|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103202752/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_5793|url-status=live}}</ref> a cardboard [[easy chair]] designed by [[Frank Gehry]],<ref name="Adler 1991 i422">{{cite web |last=Adler |first=Jerry |date=June 9, 1991 |title=A Chair For All Reasons |url=https://www.newsweek.com/chair-all-reasons-204172 |access-date=February 16, 2024 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> as well as "twig and root" furniture.<ref name="nyt-1991-09-06">{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=John |date=1991-09-06 |title=Review/Art; Cooper-Hewitt Displays More of Its Design Trove |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/06/arts/review-art-cooper-hewitt-displays-more-of-its-design-trove.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Museum namesake [[Peter Cooper]] created the first steel chair in the United States, one of which resides in the museum collection.<ref name="cooperchair">{{cite web |title=Steel Chair Designed by Peter Cooper |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_5792 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103202728/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_5792 |archive-date=January 3, 2013 |access-date=May 27, 2012 |work=SIA2011-2177 and 3785 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives}}</ref>

=== Other objects ===
Upon its opening, [[Abram S. Hewitt]]'s wife, Sarah Amelia Hewitt donated a [[lace]] collection, George Hearn donated two [[fountain]]s worth $1,000, and [[Lloyd Bryce]]'s wife donated art and objects from the [[Palace of Fontainebleau]].<ref name="oldopen" /> 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]]).<ref name="p119488881">{{cite news |last=Horsley |first=Carter B. |date=24 Dec 1972 |title=Frick Gallery Adds to Holdings |work=The New York Times |page=R3 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|119488881}}}}</ref> By the time the modern museum opened in 1976, it was recorded as having lantern brackets, window [[Grille (architecture)|grilles]], a balcony, 4,000 metal artifacts, and 30,000 international symbols donated by [[Henry Dreyfuss]] and his wife Doris.<ref name="p923052645" /> It also had other objects such as 2,000 buttons, 4,280 [[Matchsafe|match cases]], lock-and-key sets, pots, skyscraper drawings, and many pieces of [[Art Deco]] and [[Art Nouveau]] design.<ref name="p294247081">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Margo |date=15 Mar 1985 |title=A Museum for Tastemakers |work=Boston Globe |page=43 |id={{ProQuest|294247081}}}}</ref>

The museum has held notable objects in its collection such as [[John Lennon's psychedelic Rolls-Royce]].<ref name="rolls">{{cite book |url=http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=13381R1C36J97.671&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!1124~!10&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Cooper-Hewitt,+National+Design+Museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch |title=Beatles' Rolls Royce Donated to C/H |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |year=1978 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=4 |access-date=June 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328085743/http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=13381R1C36J97.671&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!1124~!10&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Cooper-Hewitt,+National+Design+Museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch |archive-date=March 28, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The car was donated by Lennon and [[Yoko Ono]] in 1978 and was auctioned off at [[Sotheby's]] in mid-1985 for $2.09&nbsp;million.<ref name="rolls" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Institution |first=Smithsonian |date=August 1985 |title=Around the Museums |journal=Smithsonian Torch |volume=85 |issue=8 |pages=2 |via=Smithsonian Institution Archives}}</ref> A punch bowl replicated by [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], a scarlet Valentine [[Olivetti typewriters|Olivetti typewriter]], and an [[Adrian Saxe]] vase were also part of the collection.<ref name="nyt-1991-09-06" /> 

== Exhibitions ==
[[File:"Treasures from the Cooper Union" Exhibit.jpg|thumb|right|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.<ref name="p512275345" /> 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.<ref name="p294247081" />

=== Before the 1970s ===
The museum hosted two special exhibitions at the [[1964 New York World's Fair]].<ref name="n139714760">{{Cite news |last=Pahlmann |first=William |date=1964-06-02 |title=New York Full of Treasures |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-statesman-new-york-full-of-tr/139714760/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The Herald Statesman |pages=9 |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128032657/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-statesman-new-york-full-of-tr/139714760/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A 1968 exhibition called "Please Be Seated", focused on contemporary chairs.<ref name="seated">{{cite web|title=Chairs on Display in Cooper-Hewitt's "Please Be Seated" Exhibit|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_5790|work=SIA2011-1454 and 67424-4|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 28, 2012|archive-date=January 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103202601/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_5790|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 1970s to 1990s ===
[[File:Cooper-Hewitt Museum "Ornament in the 20th Century" Exhibition Poster.jpg|alt=Blue poster with psychedelic paint job on Rolls-Royce Phantom V automobile.|thumb|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;<ref name="palaces">{{cite book|title=Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1977|year=1977|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=12|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1063|access-date=June 1, 2012|archive-date=January 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103033536/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1063|url-status=live}}</ref> objects from the [[Brighton Pavilion]];<ref>{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |date=1977-05-01 |title=A Marriage of Flamboyance and Delicacy of Taste |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/01/archives/architecture-view-a-marriage-of-flamboyance-and-delicacy-of-taste-a.html |access-date=2024-02-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> architectural drawings;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |date=1977-09-25 |title=Architecture View: the Fine Points of Drawings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/25/archives/architecture-view-the-fine-points-of-drawings-architecture-view-ada.html |access-date=2024-02-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> John Lennon's Rolls-Royce;<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5479/sil.144204.39088005982921 |title=Wallpaper in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Design |date=1981 |publisher=Cooper-Hewitt Museum |doi=10.5479/sil.144204.39088005982921 |access-date=September 16, 2023 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194425/https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/wallpaperincolle00coop |url-status=live }}</ref> [[List of Alvar Aalto's works|Alvar Aalto's architectural works]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=1979-06-13 |title=Architecture: Aalto's Works at Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/13/archives/architecture-aaltos-works-at-cooperhewitt.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and hundreds of objects on loan from various other Smithsonian museums.<ref name="smithexh">{{cite web|title="Smithsonian" Exhibit Opens at Cooper-Hewitt|url=http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=13381R1C36J97.671&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!1484~!14&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Cooper-Hewitt,+National+Design+Museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch|work=Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1980, p. 347|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194427/https://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=13381R1C36J97.671&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!1484~!14&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Cooper-Hewitt,+National+Design+Museum&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch|url-status=live}}</ref> The museum's exhibits in the early 1980s concerned such themes as the history and culture of the [[ocean liner]],<ref name="ocean">{{cite web|title="Oceanliner" Opens, C/H|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1695|work=Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1980. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981, p. 352|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194427/https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1695|url-status=live|postscript=none}}; {{Cite news|last=Corry|first=John|date=1980-01-21|title=BAM Repertory Troupe Ready for Upbeat Season; $800,000 Already Raised Other Hopeful Signs Cooper-Hewitt Display To Trace Ocean Liners|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/01/21/archives/bam-repertory-troupe-ready-for-upbeat-season-800000-already-raised.html|access-date=2024-02-16|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> puppets,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=1982-01-05 |title=Going Out Guide |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/05/movies/going-out-guide.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> hair styles,<ref name="hair">{{cite web |title="Hair" Opens, C/H |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1714 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328103004/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1714 |archive-date=March 28, 2013 |access-date=May 27, 2012 |work=Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1980. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981, p. 359 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|postscript=none}}; {{Cite news|last=Reif|first=Rita|date=1980-06-15|title=ANTIQUES; Hair--The Long And Short of It At Cooper-Hewitt|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/15/archives/antiques-hairthe-long-and-short-of-it-at-cooperhewitt.html|access-date=2024-02-16|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[copy machine]] art,<ref name="electro">{{cite web|title="Electroworks" Opens at the Cooper-Hewitt, 1980|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_12566|work=Smithsonian Year 1980. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981, p. 361|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194429/https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_12566|url-status=live}}</ref> plants,<ref name="nyt-1981-07-26">{{Cite news |last=Crossette |first=Barbara |date=1981-07-26 |title=Cooper-hewitt Becomes a Bower of Greenery |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/26/arts/cooper-hewitt-becomes-a-bower-of-greenery.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> British art,<ref name="nyt-1983-03-20">{{Cite news |last=Nightingale |first=Benedict |date=1983-03-20 |title=Britain's Arts and Artists Head for New York |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/20/arts/britain-s-arts-and-artists-head-for-new-york.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Scandinavian design]],<ref name="scan">{{cite web|title="Scandinavia Today" Programs Held|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_11270|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=March 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328101443/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_11270|url-status=live|postscript=none}}; {{Cite news|last=Katz|first=Ruth|date=1982-02-04|title=Rug Workshops at Cooper-Hewitt|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/04/garden/rug-workshops-at-cooperhewitt.html|access-date=2024-02-16|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and teapots.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1984-08-12 |title=Antiques; an Invitation to an Esthetic Teatime at the Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/12/arts/antiques-an-invitation-to-an-esthetic-teatime-at-the-copper-hewitt.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1983, the Cooper-Hewitt was the first museum in the United States to exhibit the [[Amsterdam School]].<ref name="amster">{{cite web|title="Amsterdam School" Opens, C/H|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1650|work=Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1984. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Archives, 1985, p. 404|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104123425/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1650|url-status=live|postscript=none}}; {{Cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=1983-12-04|title=Architecture View; in Amsterdam, Modernists Left a Remarkable Legacy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/04/arts/architecture-view-in-amsterdam-modernists-left-a-remarkable-legacy.html|access-date=2024-02-16|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Topics of the museum's exhibits in the second half of the 1980s included wine-related objects,<ref name="nyt-1985-06-16">{{Cite news |last=Reif |first=Rita |date=1985-06-16 |title=Antiques; Through the Ages With Wine Artifacts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/16/arts/antiques-through-the-ages-with-wine-artifacts.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> a showcase of art related to Berlin,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=John |date=1986-12-07 |title=Art View; Berlin 1900-1933: Capital Of Pragmatism and Fantasy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/07/arts/art-view-berlin-1900-1933-capital-of-pragmatism-and-fantasy.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> a tribute to art dealer [[Siegfried Bing]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=John |date=1987-08-21 |title=Art: 'Art Nouveau Bing' At the Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/21/arts/art-art-nouveau-bing-at-the-cooper-hewitt.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and subway posters.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Richard |date=1987-07-31 |title=Another Kind of Underground Art |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/31/arts/another-kind-of-underground-art.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

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.<ref name="p307380390">{{cite news |last=Koncius |first=Jura |date=18 Apr 1991 |title=Centuries of Artistry; Cooper-Hewitt Puts Its Treasures on Display |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=T27 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|307380390}}}}</ref>

==== Traveling exhibitions ====
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]]".<ref name=church>{{cite web|title=C/H Tours Frederic Church Exhibit|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1439|work=Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1978|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194312/https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1439|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 Center|S. Dillon Ripley Gallery]]. The exhibit featured upwards of 200 maps from around the world.<ref name=maps>{{cite web|title=Power of Maps Opens in IG|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_2256|work=Annals of the Smithsonian Institution, 1994. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994, p. 15|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref> [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II of England]] were the focus of a 1988 exhibition.<ref name=Ledes>{{cite journal|last=Ledes|first=Allison Eckardt|title=Celebrating the Age of William and Mary|journal=The Magazine Antiques|date=December 1988|pages=1240|id={{ProQuest|211113954}}}}</ref> An exhibition featuring 16th- and 17th-century decorative arts from [[Burghley House]].<ref name=ledesB>{{cite journal|last=Ledes|first=Allison Eckardt|title=Current and Coming: Treasures of an English Country House|journal=Antiques|date=October 1988|volume=134|issue=4|id={{ProQuest|211145870}}}}</ref>

=== 2000s to present ===
The jewelry of [[Van Cleef & Arpels]] was the focus of an exhibition in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=Karen|date=2011-04-07|title=Megacarats From Menus of the Rich|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/arts/design/van-cleef-arpels-jewelry-at-cooper-hewitt-museum-review.html|access-date=2024-01-29|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127022414/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/arts/design/van-cleef-arpels-jewelry-at-cooper-hewitt-museum-review.html|url-status=live}}</ref> That year, artist [[Sonia Delaunay]] had a solo show at the museum.<ref name=nathan>{{cite news|last=Nathan|first=Emily|title=Sonia Delaunay: Reaping What She Sews|url=http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/nathan/sonia-delaunay-cooper-hewitt3-24-11.asp|access-date=May 30, 2012|newspaper=Artnet|year=2011|archive-date=August 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813123021/http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/nathan/sonia-delaunay-cooper-hewitt3-24-11.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Zeaman /> 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.<ref name=taylor>{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Kate |title= Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum Plans Governors Island Show |url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/cooper-hewitt-design-museum-plans-governors-island-show |id=ArtsBeat |work= The New York Times |access-date= May 30, 2012|date=June 28, 2011 }}</ref>

Other exhibitions at the museum have included [[Puiforcat]] silver, wallpaper, the works of [[Alexander Girard]], and [[universal design]].<ref name=Iovine /><ref name="Ross">{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Nancy L. |date=May 18, 1995 |title=Designs on Cooper-Hewitt |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-833689.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517055528/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-833689.html |archive-date=May 17, 2011 |access-date=June 1, 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name=Harrell>{{cite journal|last=Harrell|first=Glenn|title=Design: Silver Polish|journal=House & Garden|date=November 1988|volume=160|issue=11|pages=37|id={{ProQuest|224838504}}}}</ref> In 2015, the museum hosted [[The Algorithm Auction]], the world's first auction of [[computer algorithms]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Turner|first1=Zeke|title=Beautiful Code|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/03/30/beautiful-code|magazine=The New Yorker|date=March 23, 2015|publisher=Condé Nast|access-date=April 22, 2015|archive-date=June 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622053051/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/03/30/beautiful-code|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|title=London Design Biennale|date=May 16, 2019|url=https://www.londondesignbiennale.com/participant/usa|access-date=March 11, 2020|archive-date=May 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521225743/https://www.londondesignbiennale.com/participant/usa|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cooper Hewitt launched a digital exhibition platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |title=Users Design Their Own Journeys in New Digital Exhibition Platform |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum/2022/02/01/users-design-their-own-journey-in-new-digital-exhibition-platform/ |access-date=September 11, 2023 |website=www.smithsonianmag.com |language=en |archive-date=October 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013142921/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum/2022/02/01/users-design-their-own-journey-in-new-digital-exhibition-platform/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 13, 2022 |title=How Linked By Air Helped Cooper Hewitt Rethink Online Exhibitions |url=https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/how-linked-by-air-helped-cooper-hewitt-rethink-online-exhibitions/ |access-date=September 11, 2023 |website=Eye on Design |language=en-US |archive-date=October 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013081611/https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/how-linked-by-air-helped-cooper-hewitt-rethink-online-exhibitions/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Programs ==

=== Outreach ===
The museum's National Design Education Center is sponsored by [[Target Corporation|Target]]. Ongoing programs for preschoolers on up are offered, along with summer camps, professional development, educator resources, and even a master's program.<ref name="Feitelberg Feitelberg 2006 c988">{{cite web |last=Feitelberg |first=Rosemary |date=April 4, 2006 |title=Target Sets Up Camp at Cooper-Hewitt |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/target-sets-up-camp-at-cooper-hewitt-539803/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=WWD |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127000057/https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/target-sets-up-camp-at-cooper-hewitt-539803/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ozler" /> 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.<ref name="feiden" />

=== Initiatives ===
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]].<ref name=SIAHistory /> 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.<ref name=Ozler>{{cite web|last=Ozler|first=Levent|title=National Design Week|url=https://www.dexigner.com/news/9379|publisher=Dexigner|access-date=June 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210064923/http://www.dexigner.com/news/9379|archive-date=February 10, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The museum sponsored a [[Bicycle stand|bike rack]] competition in 2008. The winners of the contest were a part of an exhibition at the museum.<ref name=Lee>{{cite news|last=Lee|first=Jennifer|title=Bike Racks Are Due for a Makeover|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/city-says-bike-racks-are-due-for-a-makeover/|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 13, 2008|access-date=June 1, 2012|archive-date=April 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420031757/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/city-says-bike-racks-are-due-for-a-makeover/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the early 2000s, the Cooper-Hewitt's website<!-- launch date unknown --> 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.<ref name="Hales 2006 h840">{{cite news |last=Hales |first=Linda |date=March 11, 2006 |title=A Curate-Your-Own Museum Web Site |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/03/11/a-curate-your-own-museum-web-site/ebd5a5bd-0748-4fd7-b942-7a4ae7b238a9/ |access-date=January 29, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827185602/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/03/11/a-curate-your-own-museum-web-site/ebd5a5bd-0748-4fd7-b942-7a4ae7b238a9/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2013, the Cooper Hewitt took over the code of Planetary, an [[iOS app]] that creates [[Visualization (graphics)|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.<ref name="Ng 2013 m160">{{cite web |last=Ng |first=David |date=August 29, 2013 |title=Planetary, an iPad app, enters collection of Cooper-Hewitt museum |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-ipad-application-cooper-hewitt-museum-20130828-story.html |access-date=January 29, 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times |postscript=none |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129000726/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-ipad-application-cooper-hewitt-museum-20130828-story.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Webster |first=Andrew |date=August 27, 2013 |title=Hello art world: Smithsonian acquires first piece of code for design collection |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/8/27/4663770/smithsonian-acquires-first-piece-of-code-for-design-collection |access-date=January 29, 2024 |website=The Verge |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129000724/https://www.theverge.com/2013/8/27/4663770/smithsonian-acquires-first-piece-of-code-for-design-collection |url-status=live }}</ref> After iOS App Store updates rendered the source code obsolete, an Australian developer released a patched version of the app in 2020.<ref name="nyt-2023-10-17" />

== Building ==
{{Main|Andrew Carnegie Mansion}}
[[File:The Carnegie Mansion, New Home of the Cooper-Hewitt.jpg|thumb|right|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]].<ref name="Smith 1996 g866">{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Dinitia |date=August 22, 1996 |title=Renovation Of Museum Opens Door For Director |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/22/arts/renovation-of-museum-opens-door-for-director.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126221654/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/22/arts/renovation-of-museum-opens-door-for-director.html |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> The 64-room [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] mansion was completed in 1902 as the home for [[Andrew Carnegie]], his wife [[Louise Carnegie|Louise]], and their daughter [[Margaret Carnegie Miller]].<ref name="SIAHistory" /> The property has a large private garden.<ref name="garden">{{cite web |title=Carnegie Mansion/Cooper-Hewitt Museum |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9161 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328104528/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_9161 |archive-date=March 28, 2013 |access-date=May 27, 2012 |work=73-9927 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives}}</ref> The museum acquired the mansion and the house at 9 East 90th Street in 1972,<ref name="The New York Times 1972 v693" /> followed by 11 East 90th Street in 1989.<ref name="Smith 1996 g866" /> 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.<ref name="nyt-1976-09-20">{{Cite news |last=Glueck |first=Grace |date=1976-09-20 |title=Reborn Cooper-Hewitt Museum Has New Home |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/20/archives/reborn-cooperhewitt-museum-has-new-home.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The museum closed for a $20&nbsp;million renovation in 1995,<ref name="Ross" /> reopening the next year.<ref name="Barreneche 1996">{{Cite magazine |last=Barreneche |first=Raul A. |date=Oct 1996 |title=Renovated Cooper-Hewitt reopens |magazine=Architecture: The AIA Journal |page=43 |volume=85 |issue=10 |id={{ProQuest|227770909}}}}</ref> Another renovation was completed in 2014;<ref name="nyt-2014-12-11" /><ref name="Stamp" /> that renovation cost $91&nbsp;million<ref name="Stamp" /> and was the largest in the museum's history, partially financed by the museum [[Financial endowment|endowment]].<ref name="pogrebin" /> To celebrate the reopening of the museum in 2015, the Cooper Hewitt released a downloadable 3D scan of the building.<ref name="Weinberg">{{cite web |last1=Weinberg |first1=Michael |date=November 5, 2014 |title=Cooper Hewitt Shows How To Share 3D Scan Data Right |url=https://www.publicknowledge.org/news-blog/blogs/cooper-hewitt-shows-how-to-share-3d-scan-data-right |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213024850/https://www.publicknowledge.org/news-blog/blogs/cooper-hewitt-shows-how-to-share-3d-scan-data-right |archive-date=December 13, 2014 |access-date=December 12, 2014 |website=Public Knowledge}}</ref>

== Library and study rooms ==
The museum's library was originally known as the Doris and Henry Dreyfuss Study Center.<ref name="nyt-1976-09-20" /><ref name="p1081195183">{{cite news |last=Werne |first=Jo |date=May 9, 1987 |title=Cooper-Hewitt library is designers' treasure trove |work=The Hartford Courant |page=C5A |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|1081195183}}}}</ref> 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.<ref name="p1081195183" /> The Cooper Hewitt also includes the Drue Heinz Study Center for Drawings and Prints and the Henry Luce Study Room for American Art,<ref name="Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum 2018 x759">{{cite web |date=April 6, 2018 |title=Drue Heinz Study Center for Drawings and Prints and Henry Luce Study Room for American Art |url=https://www.cooperhewitt.org/collections/studycenters/ |access-date=February 16, 2024 |website=Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum}}</ref><ref name="Compton 2014 p. 36">{{cite book |last=Compton |first=J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Nl__jDIuHIC&pg=PA36 |title=Arts America: Enjoying the Best Art Museums, Theater, Classical Music, Opera, Jazz, Dance, Film, and Summer Festivals in America |publisher=Huntington Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-935396-04-8 |page=36 |access-date=February 16, 2024}}</ref> which were added to the museum in the 1990s.<ref name="Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum 2017 u459">{{cite web |date=April 25, 2017 |title=Timeline: Interlocking Histories |url=https://www.cooperhewitt.org/timeline/#1989 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127010150/https://www.cooperhewitt.org/timeline/#1989 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |access-date=January 27, 2024 |website=Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum}}</ref>

== Attendance ==
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.<ref name=analysis>{{cite web|title=Going Free? Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and General Admission Fees|url=http://www.si.edu/Content/opanda/docs/Rpts2007/07.04.Admissions.Final.pdf|work=Smithsonian Institution, Office of Policy and Analysis, 2007|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=May 27, 2014|archive-date=October 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018163327/http://www.si.edu/Content/opanda/docs/Rpts2007/07.04.Admissions.Final.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The museum recorded about 12,000 monthly visitors, or 144,000 annual visitors, by 2002.<ref name="nyt-2002-06-25" /> {{As of|2023}}, the museum sees approximately 150,000 visitors a year.<ref name="Institution 2020 k307">{{cite web | title=Visitor Stats | website=Smithsonian Institution | date=March 14, 2020 | url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/about/stats | access-date=January 28, 2024 | archive-date=June 23, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623113133/https://newsdesk.si.edu/about/stats | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Reception and commentary ==
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".<ref name="p920955552" /> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote that it was "the foremost American museum of antique and contemporary design".<ref name="p146482171" /> 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.<ref name="p146482171" /><ref name="p294247081" />

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".<ref name="Nast 2021 x534"/>

== Publications ==
* [http://media.cooperhewitt.org.s3.amazonaws.com/2013/02/20/Design%20and%20Social%20Impact.pdf ''Design and Social Impact: A Cross-Sectoral Agenda for Design Education, Research and Practice''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509013734/http://media.cooperhewitt.org.s3.amazonaws.com/2013/02/20/Design%20and%20Social%20Impact.pdf |date=May 9, 2021 }} (2013). New York: [[Cooper-Hewitt]], National Design Museum.

== See also ==
* [[List of museums in New York City]]
* [[List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City]]
* [[Design museum#List of design museums|List of design museums]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Dolkart, Andrew. ''Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum: The Andrew and Louise Carnegie Mansion : Art Spaces.'' New York: Scala Publishers (2002). {{ISBN|1857592689}}
* Ewing, Heather. (2014). ''Life of a Mansion: The Story of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.'' Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. {{ISBN|978-0-910503-71-6}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum}}
* {{official website}}
* [http://collection.cooperhewitt.org/ Collection]
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/cooper-hewitt-national-design-museum?hl=en Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum] within [[Google Arts & Culture]]

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