diff --git a/src/components/HighTable/HighTable.stories.tsx b/src/components/HighTable/HighTable.stories.tsx
index 33e84945..9d88f69e 100644
--- a/src/components/HighTable/HighTable.stories.tsx
+++ b/src/components/HighTable/HighTable.stories.tsx
@@ -468,5 +468,20 @@ export const FilteredData: Story = {
   args: {
     data: sortableDataFrame(createFilteredData()),
     maxRowNumber: 10_000 * 1_000,
+
+  },
+}
+export const HiddenColumns: Story = {
+  args: {
+    data: sortableDataFrame(createUnsortableData()),
+    columnConfiguration: {
+      Value1: {
+        initiallyHidden: true,
+      },
+      Value3: {
+        initiallyHidden: true,
+      },
+    },
+    cacheKey: 'hidden-columns-demo',
   },
 }
diff --git a/src/components/HighTable/HighTable.tsx b/src/components/HighTable/HighTable.tsx
index 3a604c52..0786b911 100644
--- a/src/components/HighTable/HighTable.tsx
+++ b/src/components/HighTable/HighTable.tsx
@@ -81,13 +81,21 @@ function HighTableData(props: PropsData) {
   // TODO(SL): onError could be in a context, as we might want to use it everywhere
   const { cacheKey, orderBy, onOrderByChange, selection, onSelectionChange, onError, onColumnsVisibilityChange } = props
 
+  const initialVisibilityStates = useMemo(() => {
+    if (!props.columnConfiguration) return undefined
+    return data.columnDescriptors.map(descriptor => {
+      const config = props.columnConfiguration?.[descriptor.name]
+      return config?.initiallyHidden ? { hidden: true as const } : undefined
+    })
+  }, [props.columnConfiguration, data.columnDescriptors])
+
   return (
     /* Provide the column configuration to the table */
     <ColumnParametersProvider columnConfiguration={props.columnConfiguration} data={data}>
       {/* Create a new set of widths if the data has changed, but keep it if only the number of rows changed */}
       <ColumnWidthsProvider key={cacheKey ?? key} localStorageKey={cacheKey ? `${cacheKey}${columnWidthsSuffix}` : undefined} numColumns={data.columnDescriptors.length}>
         {/* Create a new set of hidden columns if the data has changed, but keep it if only the number of rows changed */}
-        <ColumnVisibilityStatesProvider key={cacheKey ?? key} localStorageKey={cacheKey ? `${cacheKey}${columnVisibilityStatesSuffix}` : undefined} numColumns={data.columnDescriptors.length} onColumnsVisibilityChange={onColumnsVisibilityChange}>
+        <ColumnVisibilityStatesProvider key={cacheKey ?? key} localStorageKey={cacheKey ? `${cacheKey}${columnVisibilityStatesSuffix}` : undefined} numColumns={data.columnDescriptors.length} initialVisibilityStates={initialVisibilityStates} onColumnsVisibilityChange={onColumnsVisibilityChange}>
           {/* Create a new context if the dataframe changes, to flush the cache (ranks and indexes) */}
           <OrderByProvider key={key} orderBy={orderBy} onOrderByChange={onOrderByChange}>
             {/* Create a new selection context if the dataframe has changed */}
diff --git a/src/helpers/columnConfiguration.ts b/src/helpers/columnConfiguration.ts
index 8233f26f..7ced649e 100644
--- a/src/helpers/columnConfiguration.ts
+++ b/src/helpers/columnConfiguration.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import React from 'react'
 export interface ColumnConfig {
   headerComponent?: React.ReactNode;
   minWidth?: number;
+  initiallyHidden?: boolean;
   // hideable?: boolean;
   // filters: Some filter structure
   // cellRenderer?: (value: unknown, row: Row) => React.ReactNode;
diff --git a/src/hooks/useColumnVisibilityStates.tsx b/src/hooks/useColumnVisibilityStates.tsx
index 36b42f1d..f3c7d264 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useColumnVisibilityStates.tsx
+++ b/src/hooks/useColumnVisibilityStates.tsx
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ export const ColumnVisibilityStatesContext = createContext<ColumnVisibilityState
 interface ColumnVisibilityStatesProviderProps {
   localStorageKey?: string // optional key to use for local storage (no local storage if not provided)
   numColumns: number // number of columns (used to initialize the visibility states array)
+  initialVisibilityStates?: MaybeHiddenColumn[] // initial visibility states for columns (used only if no local storage value exists)
   onColumnsVisibilityChange?: (columns: MaybeHiddenColumn[]) => void // callback which is called whenever the set of hidden columns changes.
   children: ReactNode
 }
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ export interface HiddenColumn {
 }
 export type MaybeHiddenColumn = HiddenColumn | undefined
 
-export function ColumnVisibilityStatesProvider({ children, localStorageKey, numColumns, onColumnsVisibilityChange }: ColumnVisibilityStatesProviderProps) {
+export function ColumnVisibilityStatesProvider({ children, localStorageKey, numColumns, initialVisibilityStates, onColumnsVisibilityChange }: ColumnVisibilityStatesProviderProps) {
   if (!Number.isInteger(numColumns) || numColumns < 0) {
     throw new Error(`Invalid numColumns: ${numColumns}. It must be a positive integer.`)
   }
@@ -50,13 +51,16 @@ export function ColumnVisibilityStatesProvider({ children, localStorageKey, numC
     })
   }
 
+  // Apply initial visibility states if no persisted state exists
+  const effectiveColumnVisibilityStates = columnVisibilityStates ?? initialVisibilityStates
+
   const isValidIndex = useCallback((index: number) => {
     return Number.isInteger(index) && index >= 0 && index < numColumns
   }, [numColumns])
 
   const isHiddenColumn = useCallback((columnIndex: number) => {
-    return columnVisibilityStates?.[columnIndex]?.hidden === true
-  }, [columnVisibilityStates])
+    return effectiveColumnVisibilityStates?.[columnIndex]?.hidden === true
+  }, [effectiveColumnVisibilityStates])
 
   const { numberOfHiddenColumns, numberOfVisibleColumns } = useMemo(() => {
     let numberOfHiddenColumns = 0
@@ -77,22 +81,23 @@ export function ColumnVisibilityStatesProvider({ children, localStorageKey, numC
       return undefined
     }
     return () => {
-      setColumnVisibilityStates(columnVisibilityStates => {
-        const nextColumnVisibilityStates = [...columnVisibilityStates ?? []]
+      setColumnVisibilityStates(currentStates => {
+        const nextColumnVisibilityStates = [...currentStates ?? initialVisibilityStates ?? []]
         nextColumnVisibilityStates[columnIndex] = { hidden: true }
         onColumnsVisibilityChange?.(nextColumnVisibilityStates)
         return nextColumnVisibilityStates
       })
     }
-  }, [canBeHidden, isValidIndex, setColumnVisibilityStates, onColumnsVisibilityChange])
+  }, [canBeHidden, isValidIndex, setColumnVisibilityStates, onColumnsVisibilityChange, initialVisibilityStates])
 
   const showAllColumns = useMemo(() => {
     if (numberOfHiddenColumns === 0) {
       return undefined
     }
     return () => {
-      setColumnVisibilityStates(undefined)
-      onColumnsVisibilityChange?.([])
+      const allVisible: MaybeHiddenColumn[] = []
+      setColumnVisibilityStates(allVisible)
+      onColumnsVisibilityChange?.(allVisible)
     }
   }, [numberOfHiddenColumns, setColumnVisibilityStates, onColumnsVisibilityChange])