Morgan Library & Museum

The Morgan Library & Museum (originally known as the Pierpont Morgan Library and colloquially known the Morgan) is a museum and research library in New York City, New York, U.S. Completed in 1906 as the private library of the banker J. P. Morgan, the institution is housed at 225 Madison Avenue in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. Template:As of, the museum is directed by Colin B. Bailey and governed by a board of trustees.

The site was formerly occupied by several Phelps family residences. J. P. Morgan purchased one of these residences in 1880 and, after collecting thousands of objects in the late 19th century, erected the main library building between 1902 and 1906. The library was made a public institution in 1924 by J. P. Morgan's son John Pierpont Morgan Jr., in accordance with his father's will, and further expansions were completed in 1928, 1962, and 1991. The Morgan Library was renamed the Morgan Library & Museum after the completion of a major expansion in 2006. Further renovations were completed in 2010 and 2022.

The Morgan Library & Museum is composed of several structures. The main building was designed by Charles McKim of the firm of McKim, Mead and White, with an annex designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris. A 19th-century Italianate brownstone house at 231 Madison Avenue, built by Isaac Newton Phelps, is also part of the grounds. The complex includes three additional structures, including a glass entrance building designed by Renzo Piano and Beyer Blinder Belle. The main building and its interior is a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark, while the house at 231 Madison Avenue is a designated city landmark.

The Morgan Library & Museum's collection has more than 350,000 objects, which include illuminated manuscripts, authors' original manuscripts, books, and sheets of music. The Morgan also houses collections of drawings, photographs, paintings, maps, and other objects. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum has hosted temporary exhibitions, as well as events such as concerts and lectures. Both the collection and the original building's architecture have received praise over the years, while the annexes' architecture has received mixed commentary.

History

Background

Phelps Stokes/Dodge houses

In the second half of the 19th century, the Morgan Library & Museum's site was occupied by four brownstone houses on the east side of Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th Street to the north. The houses were all built in 1852 or 1853 by members of the Phelps Stokes/Dodge merchant family.<ref name="nyt20010826">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 2">Template:Harvnb</ref> Three houses were built along Madison Avenue on lots measuring Template:Convert wide by Template:Convert deep, while a fourth house to the east measured Template:Convert wide and stretched Template:Convert between 37th and 36th Streets. All the houses were designed in an Italianate style with pink brownstone.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 2" /> A driveway and stables were located behind the homes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Madison Avenue houses, from north to south, were owned by Isaac Newton Phelps, William E. Dodge, and John Jay Phelps, while the 37th Street house was owned by George D. Phelps.<ref name="nyt20010826" /><ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 2" /> The houses were separated from each other by gardens.<ref name="Detroit Free Press 1908">Template:Cite news</ref> The surrounding neighborhood of Murray Hill was not yet developed at the time, but began to grow after the American Civil War.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref>

Isaac Newton Phelps's daughter Helen married Anson Phelps Stokes in 1865. Their son, the architect Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes, was born in the Isaac Newton Phelps house at 231 Madison Avenue two years later. Helen Phelps inherited the house following her father's death. In 1888, she doubled the size of her house and added an attic; the architect R. H. Robertson designed the expansion.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 2" />

The banker John Pierpont Morgan, who lived at 6 East 40th Street in the 1870s,<ref name="TL p. 65">Template:Harvnb</ref> was looking to buy his own house by 1880. He wished to live in Murray Hill, where many of his and his wife's friends and business contacts lived.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 3">Template:Harvnb</ref> Morgan sought to buy John Jay Phelps's house at 219 Madison Avenue, at the corner with 36th Street, which was offered for $225,000.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 3" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> He acquired the house in 1880 and renovated it over the following two years, moving there in 1882.<ref name="TL p. 65" /><ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 3" /> The exterior design was largely retained, but the interior was extensively renovated by the Herter Brothers.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 3" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Morgan collection

Morgan had collected handwriting samples as early as the 1850s,<ref name="Boyce p. 21">Template:Harvnb</ref> and he also acquired pictures and stained glass pieces throughout the years.<ref name="Chapin 1971">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Russell 1988">Template:Cite news</ref> In the late 19th century, Morgan became one of the most influential financiers in the United States.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Roth p. 288">Template:Harvnb</ref> As his wealth grew, Morgan amassed a collection of fine art, inspired by the collection of his father Junius Spencer Morgan, and he also began collecting rare books and other bindings at his nephew Junius's suggestion. The fine art was subject to import taxes and was stored in England; since books were not subject to import taxes, they were stored in the basement of his New York residence.<ref name="Roth p. 288" /><ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> J. P. Morgan's collection included 160 titles by 1883.<ref name="Boyce p. 21" />

The collection grew quickly after his father died in 1890.<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Morgan began acquiring historically important manuscripts after his father obtained Walter Scott's original manuscript of the book Guy Mannering.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> From 1899 to 1902 alone, he took over three collectors' libraries, which included hundreds of illuminated manuscripts, prints, and other manuscripts.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Morgan also acquired smaller collections, such as French literature, medieval chivalry, and American manuscript collections.<ref name="Boyce p. 23">Template:Harvnb</ref> Morgan may have collected these objects exclusively for pleasure and not for investment purposes.<ref name="Davis 1974">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Morgan brought his art collection to the U.S. because an 1897 law allowed him to do it without paying import taxes, and also because he wanted to preserve the objects for the American people.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Development of library

By 1900, Morgan's collection took up more space than was available in his residence,<ref name="TL p. 65" /><ref name="nyt19811230">Template:Cite news</ref> and his son-in-law described the basement as being packed with piles of objects.<ref name="nyt-1981-12-30">Template:Cite news</ref> Some of his collection had to be stored at the Lenox Library.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Morgan was unable to expand the house due to an Template:Convert driveway east of it.<ref name="nyt19070616">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Cincinnati Enquirer 1900">Template:Cite news</ref> While part of Morgan's collection was stored in the basement of his house,<ref name="Landmarks Preservation Commission 1982" /> other items were loaned to institutions or placed in storage.<ref name="Landmarks Preservation Commission 1982">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Swanson 2005">Template:Cite news</ref>

Site acquisition

In 1900, the plots north and east of J. P. Morgan's house were placed for sale after the death of Melissa Stokes Dodge, who lived in the Dodge mansion just north of Morgan's house.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 4">Template:Harvnb</ref> That January, he bought a Template:Convert plot of land on 36th Street,<ref name="nyt19070616" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> for a library.<ref name="TL p. 65" /><ref name="Cincinnati Enquirer 1900" /> The site had been occupied by two brownstone homes at 35 and 37 East 36th Street, which Morgan promptly razed.<ref name="nyt19070616" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1902, Morgan acquired two more lots on 36th Street with a total frontage of Template:Convert.<ref name="nyt19070616" /> On the far eastern side of that plot, McKim, Mead & White designed a six-story house at 33 East 36th Street for Morgan's daughter Louisa and her husband Herbert Satterlee.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="NY1900">Template:Cite NY1900</ref><ref name="Roth p. 289">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Satterlees' house was made of limestone, as contrasted with the brownstones on Madison Avenue, and was connected to Morgan's own home by tunnels.<ref name="Roth p. 409">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Satterlee residence measured Template:Convert wide, and Morgan used the Template:Convert plot between his house and the Satterlees' home for his new library.<ref name="TL p. 65" />

Morgan acquired William E. Dodge's home in April 1903.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite magazine</ref> While the Satterlee house was under construction, the couple moved into the Dodge mansion.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 4" /> By late 1904, Morgan had also purchased the old Isaac Newton Stokes house at 229 Madison Avenue for his son J. P. Morgan Jr., who was known as "Jack".<ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Cite book; Template:Cite news</ref> Jack initially lived nearby at 22 Park Avenue.<ref name="TL p. 70">Template:Harvnb</ref> When Jack and his wife Jane Norton Grew moved into 229 Madison Avenue in 1905, he commissioned a major renovation of the interior and renumbered it as 231 Madison Avenue. Jack Morgan also performed $1,900 in changes to the house's exterior.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 4" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> J. P. Morgan came to own two-thirds of the city block;<ref name="nyt-2006-02-12">Template:Cite news</ref> his holdings by 1907 included the whole Template:Convert frontage on Madison Avenue, stretching Template:Convert on 36th Street and Template:Convert on 37th Street.<ref name="nyt19070616" />

Construction

File:J.P. Morgan's private library, New York, N.Y. det.4a22876.jpg

The library Template:Circa, shortly after its completion

Morgan first hired Warren and Wetmore to design a Baroque-style library,<ref name="Roth p. 288" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 3">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Wilson p. 219">Template:Harvnb</ref> which would have had a heavily decorated upper section.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Whitney Warren of Warren and Wetmore had then just completed the elaborately decorated New York Yacht Club Building,<ref name="Roth p. 409" /><ref name="wsj-2022-07-27">Template:Cite news</ref> and Warren had wanted to design a domed structure.<ref name="nyt-1981-12-30" /><ref name="wsj-2022-07-27" /> Morgan's preference for an austere structure may have led him to reject Warren and Wetmore.<ref name="Roth p. 409" /> He instead hired Charles McKim of McKim, Mead & White to design the library in 1902.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 4" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Wilson p. 219" /> C. T. Wills was hired as the builder.<ref name="The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide 1904">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The library was to be a classical marble structure with a simple design; Morgan had told McKim that he wanted "a gem".<ref name="Roth p. 289" /> McKim's designs were traditional for their time, while those who wanted more fashionable designs typically hired McKim's partner Stanford White.<ref name="nyt-1981-12-30" /><ref name="wsj-2006-06-082">Template:Cite news</ref>

At the time of the library's planning, restrictive covenants in Murray Hill prohibited the construction of museums there, but the library was originally not planned as a museum.<ref name="TL p. 67">Template:Harvnb</ref> While McKim was responsible for the overall design, Morgan had final say over the aspects of the plan.<ref name="Roth p. 289" /><ref name="TL p. 67" /> An initial proposal called for a projecting central mass flanked by recessed wings, which Morgan deemed unwieldy. The second version of the plan reduced the size of the central mass and added a recessed entrance.<ref name="Roth p. 289" /> Morgan also rejected a proposal for a Greek temple–like structure topped by a portico.<ref name="TL p. 67" /> The final designs called for the central section and wings to be the same distance from the street.<ref name="Roth p. 289" /> Morgan insisted the library be made of marble, even though his whole family except for his daughter Louisa lived in a brownstone house.<ref name="Roth p. 409" /> Morgan originally planned to use white marble, but he used pinkish-gray Tennessee marble instead after a neighbor told him that white marble would make the building look like a mausoleum.<ref name="TL p. 67" />

By early 1903, workers were laying the foundation for the library.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="TL p. 69">Template:Harvnb</ref> Construction began that April,<ref name="Roth p. 291">Template:Harvnb</ref> and the library was being dubbed as "Mr. Morgan's jewel case" by the next year.<ref name="The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide 1904" /> Few details of the library were given out during construction, as Morgan prohibited the workers from talking to the press.<ref name="New-York Tribune 1906">Template:Cite news</ref> The Wall Street Journal reported in June 1906 that Morgan had "wanted the most perfect structure that human hands could erect and was willing to pay whatever it cost".<ref name="wsj19060623">Template:Cite news</ref> For example, the usage of dry masonry marble blocks, an uncommon construction method that eliminated the need for joints made of mortar, added $50,000 to the cost of construction.<ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 3" /><ref name="Wilson p. 219" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> McKim had suggested the dry masonry blocks to Morgan, who readily agreed to pay the extra cost.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Poughkeepsie Journal 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> To fit New York City's climate,<ref name="Boyce p. 23" /> tinfoil sheeting was placed between the blocks.<ref name="Roth p. 291" /><ref name="wsj19060623" /> In addition, the stonework contractor nearly went out of business because the builders would not use any stones with cracks.<ref name="Conklin 2019 g140" />

Morgan was impressed with the quality of the work<ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 6">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> and often upheld the library as an accomplishment of McKim's.<ref name="TL p. 69" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 6" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> This was because McKim was not only responsible for selecting the marble from Rome but also for hiring the library's decorators and craftsmen.<ref name="TL p. 69" /> The final design was more representative of the work of William M. Kendall from McKim, Mead & White.<ref name="Wilson p. 218">Template:Harvnb</ref> Morgan acquired two hundred cases of books, which were temporarily stored in the Lenox Library and moved to Morgan's personal library starting in December 1905.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Around the same time, Morgan hired Belle da Costa Greene as his personal librarian.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Toward the library's completion, Morgan reportedly requested that the entire library be shortened by one foot.<ref name="Poughkeepsie Journal 1964" />

Private library

Opening and early years

Morgan first used his office in November 1906 with a reception for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's purchasing committee. The decorative details were not completed until January 1907, and the collection was relocated into the library later that year.<ref name="Roth p. 291" /> Morgan's library had cost $1.2 million (equivalent to $Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn).<ref name="nycland">Template:Cite nycland</ref><ref name="inside">Template:Cite inside.</ref> During the Panic of 1907, the presidents of the city's banks and trust companies were locked in the library overnight until they agreed on a plan to stop the financial crisis.<ref name="Roth p. 410">Template:Harvnb</ref> To allow people to see his new library from Madison Avenue, Morgan demolished the Dodge house in 1907–1908<ref name="Detroit Free Press 1908" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and replaced it with a garden designed by Beatrix Farrand.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

As the librarian, Greene was tasked with expanding the collection,<ref name="The Buffalo News 1913">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1912 v610">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as cataloging and researching the history of each item.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She frequently searched for rare volumes in back alleys, but initially tended to avoid auctions and rarely spent more than $10,000 on a book without permission.<ref name="The Buffalo News 1913" /> Greene tended to acquire items created before the 16th century, since Morgan believed that other libraries were able to adequately care for newer items.<ref name="The New York Times 1912 v610" /> Morgan also decided to import the rest of his collection and display it at his library. To avoid paying import taxes, he was required to open the library to the public on certain days of the week.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Morgan sometimes acquired art on short notice; in one case, he bought a Vermeer painting minutes after learning about the artist.<ref name="Chapin 1971" /> He also refused to buy works that he believed were too expensive,<ref name="Chapin 1971" /> and, although Morgan sometimes bought whole collections, in other instances he acquired a small number of pieces from a collection.<ref name="Brake 2010 v340">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Morgan frequently met with foreign bankers in the library's study,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and he often opted to work in the library rather than in his downtown office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Among Morgan's larger acquisitions in the late 1900s and early 1910s was a collection of rare American authors' manuscripts from merchant S. H. Wakeman in 1909.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Wall Street Journal wrote in 1911 that "Mr. Morgan buys books as some financiers buy a thousand shares of stock";<ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1911">Template:Cite news</ref> in some years, he spent half his income on the collection.<ref name="Irwin 1927">Template:Cite news</ref> Acquisitions continued until his death in March 1913.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Morgan had bought thousands of objects since 1899, including 600 manuscripts and 3,000 medieval items.<ref name="Budick 2006">Template:Cite news</ref>

After J. P. Morgan's death

File:J.P. Morgan's body taken from his library LCCN2014692276.jpg

J. P. Morgan's body being brought to his home and library after his death in Rome

Morgan's estate was valued at $128 million (about $Template:Inflation billion in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn), over half of which lay in the worth of his collection.<ref name="wsj19990305">Template:Cite news</ref> J. P. Morgan bequeathed all except one piece in the collection to the library,<ref name="Seldis 1966" /> with the request that Jack make the collection "permanently available for the instruction and pleasure of the American people".<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /><ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Cite news</ref> The month after J. P. Morgan's death, the New York state legislature granted a two-year exemption enabling Jack to import his father's overseas collection without having to pay import duties.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jack did not publicly show interest in his father's art collection and reportedly did not expand it in the year after his father died.<ref name="The Washington Post 1914">Template:Cite news</ref> Jack sold off much of the overseas collection rather than importing it, but he decided to keep the items that were already in his father's library.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> During 1914, the collection was displayed in full at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the only time the whole collection was displayed.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The import duty exemption expired in April 1915,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Jack sold various items in the collection to pay the inheritance taxes and to raise money for the cash bequests in his father's will.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /><ref name="Irwin 1927" /> The next year, the collection was valued at $7.5 million for taxation purposes.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Jack and Jane Morgan continued to employ Greene as the librarian, adding items that personally interested them.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Wiegand Davis 1994 p. 4992">Template:Cite book</ref> Frances Morgan, Jack's mother and John Pierpont's widow, lived at J. P. Morgan's old residence until her death in November 1924.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /> By then, despite Jack's opposition, the surrounding stretch of Madison Avenue was being redeveloped as a business street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NY1930">Template:Cite NY1930</ref> Although Jane Morgan died in 1925, Jack continued to live at 231 Madison Avenue until his death in 1943,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Satterlee home remained in the Morgan family until 1944.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The United Lutheran Church in America bought 231 Madison Avenue for its headquarters in 1943<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1282798435">Template:Cite news</ref> and built a five-story annex there in 1957.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /><ref name="Hampson 1988">Template:Cite news</ref> It was the only remaining brownstone house along the Murray Hill section of Madison Avenue by the 1960s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Public institution

1920s to 1940s

File:Morgan Library & Museum (51877263417).jpg

The 1928 annex

The Pierpont Morgan Library was incorporated as a public institution in March 1924,<ref name="Stam 2001 p. 637">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a month after Jack Morgan announced that he would transfer the collection to a board of trustees and provide a $1.5 million endowment for the library.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1924">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1924 m054">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The library's name reflected the fact that the elder J. P. Morgan had disliked being called by his first name and even his first initial.<ref name="nyt-1995-11-09">Template:Cite news</ref> The Morgans transferred the library building, and the land under 219 Madison Avenue, to the Morgan Library.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /> Greene was retained as the librarian.<ref name="The New York Times 1924 m054" /> The Morgan Library was not a public library and initially only allowed researchers into the space;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Dashwood 1932">Template:Cite news</ref> as Jack Morgan said, "one soiled thumb could undo the work of 900 years".<ref name="Dashwood 1932" /> Only ten scholars could initially enter the building at once.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The library's collection continued to grow, with emphasis placed on rare items; for example, though only four items were acquired in 1926, all of these were unique manuscripts.<ref name="Irwin 1927" />

To accommodate additional scholars, the Morgan Library announced plans for an annex in January 1927.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1927">Template:Cite news</ref> Though Jack initially denied that 219 Madison Avenue would be demolished,<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1927" /> that house was ultimately razed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt01927-01-30">Template:Cite news</ref> Benjamin Wistar Morris was hired to design the annex, while Marc Eidlitz & Son was hired to build it.<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1927" /><ref name="nyt01927-01-30" /> The annex was completed in 1928.<ref name="Roth p. 410" /><ref name="Strouse 1999">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Wilson p. 223">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Morgan Library continued to expand its collections;<ref name="The Morgan Timeline">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> for instance, between 1936 and 1940, it acquired twelve manuscripts and dozens of drawings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the 25 years after it became a public institution, the Morgan Library acquired 200 total manuscripts, 83 books, and hundreds of autographed letters and papers.<ref name="The New York Times 1949 d369">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Through the early 1940s, the Morgan Library continued to limit access only to researchers,<ref name="nyt-1942-12-08">Template:Cite news</ref> prompting city officials to request that the library's tax-exempt status be removed because it was not a public library.<ref name="The New York Times 1941 t703">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In December 1942, Morgan Library officials agreed to open the library to the general public, and city officials agreed not to fight the library's tax-exempt status.<ref name="nyt-1942-12-08" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Many of the library's most valuable artifacts were transported to other locations in the U.S. in 1942 to protect them from possible World War II airstrikes; the objects were returned to the library in December 1944.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library was formed in 1949 to raise funds for the collections and distribute funds to scholars and publications.<ref name="Seldis 1966" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 7">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1959-11-24">Template:Cite news</ref> After Belle da Costa Greene retired from the library in 1948,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Frederick Baldwin Adams Jr. was appointed as the Morgan's second director.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1950s to mid-1980s

File:The Morgan Library & Museum.jpg

Interior of the East Library

The Morgan Library started to host concerts and tours during the 1950s,<ref name="Wiegand Davis 1994 p. 4992" /> and it also acquired items such as a collection of 1,375 letters from a British dealer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Officials began raising $3 million for an expansion of the library in 1959; the money was to fund modifications to the annex and a new lecture hall, as well as artifact purchases and new programs.<ref name="nyt-1959-11-24" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By that November, the library had raised $550,000.<ref name="nyt-1959-11-24" /> In 1960, the main library and its annex were connected by a cloister structure.<ref name="Roth p. 410" /> During the renovation, the operating hours of the east room and west room were expanded from three to six days a week.<ref name="nyt-1960-09-06">Template:Cite news</ref> The renovation, designed by J. P. Morgan's nephew Alexander P. Morgan,<ref name="Roth p. 410" /> was completed in 1962 and included office space, a gallery, and meeting space.<ref name="NPS p. 2">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 7" /><ref name="nyt-1962-10-05">Template:Cite news</ref> In total, the renovation cost $1.4 million.<ref name="nyt-1962-10-05" /> By the early 1960s, the library was open six days a week (five days during the summer), and it charged no admission fee.<ref name="Daily News 1960" /> Access to parts of the collection was limited to authorized researchers.<ref name="Seldis 1966" /><ref name="Daily News 1960">Template:Cite news</ref>

Adams retired as the Morgan's director in 1969 and was succeeded by Charles Ryskamp.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During Ryskamp's 17-year tenure, the $11 million endowment was expanded to $38 million.<ref name="nyt-1986-12-19a">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Newsday 1986">Template:Cite news</ref> By the early 1970s, the Morgan Library had several hundred fellows, or members,<ref name="Chapin 1971" /> and Ryskamp wanted to attract more visitors to the library.<ref name="Shirey 1970">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Morgan Library constructed a five-story addition with storage vaults and offices in 1975.<ref name="nyt19750709">Template:Cite news</ref>

The library continued to acquire other collections in the 1970s and 1980s, including the musical manuscript collection of Mary Flagler Cary;<ref name="Otto E 1972">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Turner p. 290">Template:Harvnb</ref> 1,500 Italian drawings from János Scholz;<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Dannie Heineman's collection of letters, books, and newspaper clippings;<ref name="Turner p. 290" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> part of Robin Lehman's music manuscript collection;<ref name="Turner p. 290" /><ref name="nyt-1983-03-03">Template:Cite news</ref> and 75 rare manuscripts from William S. Glazier.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ryskamp also arranged various temporary exhibitions.<ref name="nyt-1986-12-19a" /> During the 1980s, the library raised $1.5 million each year for its operating budget, in addition to funding for repairs.<ref name="nyt-1986-12-19a" /> The institution received a $1 million grant for the preservation of its printed books (the largest donation it had ever received at the time)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a $600,000 matching grant for its conservation department in 1981.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the mid-1980s, the institution was officially renamed the Morgan Library.<ref name="Gibson 2006">Template:Cite news</ref>

1980s and 1990s expansion

File:Detailed Ceiling of Morgan Library.JPG

Ceiling of the main building's rotunda

Ryskamp resigned as director in 1986<ref name="nyt-1986-12-19a" /><ref name="Newsday 1986" /> and was replaced the next year by Charles Eliot Pierce Jr.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Pierce was the first director of the Morgan who was not associated with Princeton University. After he was appointed, Pierce sought to attract visitors; he would later recall that he was "disconcerted" by reports that previous visitors had been turned away from the library.<ref name="nyt-1995-11-09" /> In 1988, the Morgan Library bought 231 Madison Avenue from the Lutheran Church for $15 million.<ref name="Russell 1988" /><ref name="Hampson 1988" /> The library planned to spend $5 million restoring the house,<ref name="Hampson 1988" /> and it also announced that it would raise $40 million for a capital campaign.<ref name="Russell 1988" /><ref name="Shepard 1989">Template:Cite news</ref> The original buildings could display only one percent of the total collection at once,<ref name="Russell 1988" /><ref name="Shepard 1989" /> and the entire exhibition space consisted of two rooms and a corridor.<ref name="Lipson 1991">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1989, the firm of Voorsanger and Mills designed a glass conservatory connecting 231 Madison Avenue and the main building's annex.<ref name="Shepard 1989" /><ref name="nyt-1989-03-01">Template:Cite news</ref> The conservatory would expand the library's space to Template:Convert, add a walled terrace on Madison Avenue, and make the structures wheelchair-accessible. Because the original building was a city landmark, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had to approve the plans.<ref name="Shepard 1989" /> An early plan called for converting 231 Madison Avenue to exhibition galleries, but the house's internal structure made this impossible,<ref name="Goldberger 1991">Template:Cite news</ref> so 231 Madison Avenue became offices and a bookstore.<ref name="nyt20010826" /><ref name="Lipson 1991" /> The library's artworks were also extensively cleaned,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Pearson p. 104">Template:Harvnb</ref> display cases were added to the original East Library, and the West Study was opened to the public.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The expansion was finished in October 1991.<ref name="Lipson 1991" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The project was originally planned to cost $9–10 million<ref name="nyt-1989-03-01" /> but ultimately cost $15 million.<ref name="Lipson 1991" /> The Morgan finished raising $40 million in November 1992.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Visitor numbers had increased by the mid-1990s,<ref name="nyt-1995-11-09" /> and the library had pay-what-you-wish admission fees.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, the library still had a reputation for being a rich enclave, and many board members were part of rich families.<ref name="nyt-1995-11-09" /> The library's acquisitions in the 1990s included part of Alice Tully's art collection,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carter Burden's collection of over 30,000 American literary volumes,<ref name="Samway 1999">Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> and Pierre Matisse's collection of 2,000 letters from artists.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Morgan opened a drawing center on the second floor of the annex, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, in 1999.<ref name="The Morgan Timeline" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same year, the Morgan received $10 million from Eugene V. Thaw and Clare E. Thaw;<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> these funds were used to establish the Thaw Conservation Center, completed in 2002.<ref name="AR-2002-10">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the beginning of the 21st century, the library's facilities had become dated. Pierce said later: "We had a lecture hall, not a concert hall; a reading room that owed more to 1928 instead of 2006."<ref name="Swanson 2006">Template:Cite news</ref>

2000s expansion

The Morgan's board began planning another expansion in the late 1990s. The board hosted an architectural design competition and selected three finalists, all of whose plans involved demolishing the 1991 conservatory.<ref name="AR 2003-01">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Pierce 2003">Template:Cite news</ref> Ultimately, the board hired the Italian architect Renzo Piano (who had not participated in the original competition<ref name="Pierce 2003" />), along with Beyer Blinder Belle.<ref name="AR 2003-01" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although Piano had not previously designed a building in New York City,<ref name="Horowitz 2005 p357">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Budick 2006" /> he had been selected because of his experience designing buildings in various styles and geographical contexts.<ref name="Horowitz 2005 p357" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The plans called for new exhibit areas, a reading room, an auditorium, and more storage space.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Vogel 2005">Template:Cite news</ref> The Morgan planned to raise $25 million for maintenance and $100 million for the renovation itself.<ref name="AR 2003-01" /><ref name="Pierce 2003" /> Despite the September 11 attacks, the Morgan decided to proceed with the expansion.<ref name="Pierce 2003" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The library presented preliminary plans to the LPC in January 2002.<ref name="Dunlap 2002">Template:Cite news</ref> The LPC approved the proposal shortly afterward,<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> despite concerns about the design from Manhattan Community Board 6 and the architect Robert A. M. Stern.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In May 2003, the Morgan Library's buildings were closed for construction and expansion,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-2003-04-25">Template:Cite news</ref> and the collection was placed into storage or moved to other institutions.<ref name="nyt-2003-04-25" /><ref name="Pierce 2003" /> At the time, the museum recorded about 200,000 annual visitors<ref name="Matthews 2006">Template:Cite news</ref> but wanted to accommodate twice that number.<ref name="AR 2003-01" /><ref name="Pierce 2003" /> The library sponsored numerous traveling exhibitions around the country.<ref name="nyt20070420" /> All of the post-1928 annexes were demolished.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /><ref name="Newhouse p. 97">Template:Harvnb</ref> Workers built most of the new spaces underground,<ref name="Swanson 2005" /> excavating nearly Template:Convert of bedrock.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /> The entrance was also relocated to Madison Avenue.<ref name="Matthews 2006" /><ref name="nyt20070420" /> In conjunction with the renovation, Pierce planned to rebrand the institution as a museum.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Morgan also continued to acquire objects during the renovation, such as the collection of the lyricist Fred Ebb.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The project cost $106 million in total;<ref name="Newhouse p. 93">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Johnson 2007 z165">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Rochon 2006" />Template:Efn the renovation did not include the main building.<ref name="nyt-2010-05-12" /><ref name="Kissel 2006 c935">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Madison Av Apr 2022 154.jpg

The Madison Avenue entrance building, which was completed in 2006

The library reopened on April 29, 2006,<ref name="Matthews 2006" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was renamed the Morgan Library & Museum.<ref name="nyt-2010-05-12" /><ref name="Rochon 2006" /> J. P. Morgan's private office and vault were also opened to the public.<ref name="nyt20070420">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Gibson 2006" /> Following the renovation, the number of annual visitors increased to 223,000, but this number had declined to 150,000 by 2010.<ref name="Akers 2010 a118">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The museum also hosted concerts in its new auditorium,<ref name="Schweitzer 2006 k752">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> and it hired Restaurant Associates to operate a cafe there.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Pierce retired as the museum's director in early 2007,<ref name="Johnson 2007 z165" /><ref name="Vogel 2007">Template:Cite news</ref> saying that some museum members had opposed changes made during his tenure.<ref name="Johnson 2007 z165" /> William M. Griswold was hired as the museum's next director that April,<ref name="Vogel 2007" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> overseeing the growth of its collections, exhibition programs, and curatorial departments.<ref name="Miller 2014 b718">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> By the late 2000s, there was still not enough space for the museum's permanent collection.<ref name="nyt-2010-05-12">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Kissel 2006 c935" /> The museum began planning to restore the main building Template:Circa.<ref name="Hart 2010">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

2010s to present

In May 2010, Griswold announced that the main building would be renovated, and the museum started providing audio guides about its collections.<ref name="nyt-2010-05-12" /> The renovation cost $4.5 million<ref name="Akers 2010 a118" /><ref name="Sheets 2010 t737">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and included cleaning the marble facade, replacing electrical systems and lighting, and opening the North Room to the public.<ref name="Akers 2010 a118" /><ref name="Murdock 2011 k395">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Beyer Blinder Belle designed the restoration,<ref name="Hart 2010" /><ref name="Murdock 2011 k395" /> which was completed in October 2010.<ref name="Pogrebin 2010">Template:Cite news; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Cotter2010">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Alongside the main building's renovation, Griswold wanted to digitize the collection.<ref name="Catton p.">Template:Cite news</ref> The Morgan established a photography department in 2012.<ref name="Johnson 2014">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Tremayne-Pengelly 2023 j811" /> Griswold resigned as the Morgan's director in 2014,<ref name="Miller 2014 b718" /> and Colin Bailey was appointed as the director of the Morgan Library & Museum the next year.<ref name="Pobric 2015 p809">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref>

The Morgan Library & Museum announced in February 2019 that it would renovate the main building's facade.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Holmes 2019 v179">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Integrated Conservation Resources restored the main building.<ref name="nyt-2022-06-10" /><ref name="The Architect's Newspaper 2022" /> After the facade's restoration was completed later that year,<ref name="Conklin 2019 g140">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Holmes 2019 v179" /> the landscape designer Todd Longstaffe-Gowan designed a garden surrounding the original building.<ref name="nyt-2022-06-10">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Davidson 2022">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The LPC had initially opposed the garden, as the original building had never had a garden, but approved the project after learning that J. P. Morgan had wanted a garden around the library.<ref name="The Architect's Newspaper 2022">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The museum was temporarily closed from March to September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the renovation was delayed as a result.<ref name="nyt-2022-06-10" /> The garden opened to the public in June 2022.<ref name="Davidson 2022" /><ref name="The Architect's Newspaper 2022" /> The renovation had cost $13 million in total.<ref name="nyt-2022-06-10" /><ref name="Financial Times d265">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Morgan Library & Museum celebrated its 100th anniversary as a public institution in 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Cassady 2024 i445">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To celebrate its centennial, the museum began raising $50 million in 2023,<ref name="Cassady 2024 i445" /><ref name="Culgan 2023 p604">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including $35 million for its endowment and $15 million for capital improvements.<ref name="Tremayne-Pengelly 2023 j811">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The heiress Katharine Rayner donated $10 million to endow the director's position, which was renamed in her honor in early 2024,<ref name="Goukassian 2024 g840">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Lifestyles Magazine v161">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Jerome L. Greene Foundation donated another $5 million.<ref name="Cassady 2024 i445" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Collection

Template:Main category John Pierpont Morgan's original collection included porcelains, triptychs, books, and manuscripts.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 3" /> The collection of the Morgan Library & Museum contained more than 350,000 objects by the early 21st century.<ref name="AR-2002-10" /><ref name="The New York Sun 2006 f917">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Swanson 2006" /> One late-20th-century reporter described the collection as including a variety of "almost random treasures".<ref name="Chapin 1971" /> The library's online catalog, Corsair, contains records for many of the collection's objects.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Manuscripts and letters

File:Warwick Hours, perhaps London c. 1430-1445, and Ferrara Italy c. 1482, - Morgan Library & Museum - New York City - DSC06575.jpg

One of the illuminated manuscripts

The Morgan Library & Museum has long contained a collection of illuminated manuscripts,<ref name="Pastore 1961">Template:Cite news</ref> which date from the sixth to sixteenth centuries.<ref name="Dashwood 1932" /><ref name="Shirey 1970" /><ref name="The Morgan Library and Museum Medieval Renaissance Manuscripts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As early as 1923, the Morgan Library counted 560 illuminated manuscripts in its collection,<ref name="American Bankers Association 1923 p. 566">Template:Cite magazine</ref> a number that had grown to over 1,100 by the 21st century.<ref name="The Morgan Library and Museum Medieval Renaissance Manuscripts" /> Among the manuscripts are the Morgan Bible, Morgan Beatus, Hours of Catherine of Cleves, Farnese Hours, Morgan Black Hours, and Codex Glazier,<ref name="Dashwood 1932" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as an Anglo-Saxon Gospels manuscript.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref>

The manuscript collection also contains authors' original manuscripts, many of them autographed.<ref name="Shirey 1970" /> The library's early acquisitions included a Charles Dickens manuscript of A Christmas Carol;<ref name="Seldis 1966" /><ref name="Wiegand Davis 1994 p. 4992" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a J. M. Barrie manuscript;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and original drawings for The Pickwick Papers and the Book of Job.<ref name="R.R. Bowker Company 1913 p. 1229">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The collection also includes manuscripts of poems by Robert Burns;<ref name="Stam 2001 p. 637" /> nine of Walter Scott's novels;<ref name="Stam 2001 p. 637" /> Alexander Pope's poem An Essay on Man;<ref name="Shirey 1970" /> John Keats's poem Endymion;<ref name="Seldis 1966" /> Francis Bacon's book Novum Organum,<ref name="Strickland 1993" /> Edgar Allan Poe's short story "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains";<ref name="Swanson 2006" /> and Ernest Hemingway's short story "Three Stories and Ten Poems".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are also writings from Émile Zola, Victor Hugo, Marie Antoinette, George Sand, Alexandre Dumas, Thomas Moore,<ref name="American Bankers Association 1923 p. 566" /> Jane Austen, John Milton,<ref name="Kissel 2006 c935" /> John Ruskin,<ref>Template:Cite magazine; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Honoré de Balzac.<ref name="Stam 2001 p. 637" /> Other documents in the Morgan's collection are a collection of 64 Central European manuscripts<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and one of about two dozen original prints of the United States Declaration of Independence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

There are many letters in the collection, some dating as far back as ancient Babylonian times.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Morgan holds original letters by Napoleon, Horace Walpole,<ref name="R.R. Bowker Company 1913 p. 1229" /> Voltaire, Francesco Filelfo,<ref name="nyt-1956-05-15">Template:Cite news</ref> John Cheever,<ref name="Samway 1999" /> Thomas Pynchon,<ref name="Samway 1999" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Vincent van Gogh,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and George Beaumont.<ref name="nyt-1959-05-17">Template:Cite news</ref> There is also a rare 1516 letter from Andrea Corsali with the first description of the Southern Cross.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The collection includes notebooks and journals as well. These include the notebooks of Percy Bysshe Shelley,<ref name="nyt-2006-02-12" /><ref name="R.R. Bowker Company 1913 p. 1229" /> Nathaniel Hawthorne,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tennessee Williams,<ref name="Samway 1999" /> and Henry David Thoreau.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> Diaries are also displayed, including those of Queen Victoria, pirate Bartholomew Sharp, writer E. B. White, and J. P. Morgan Sr. himself.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Musical collection

The Morgan Library & Museum also houses a sizable musical manuscript collection.<ref name="Otto E 1972" /><ref name="Wiegand Davis 1994 p. 4992" /> A 1998 magazine article about the collection described it as containing 1,250 music manuscripts; 1,900 pieces of music-related literature; and 7,000 letters written by musicians.<ref name="Turner p. 290" /> The music collection includes autographed and annotated libretti and scores from Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Luigi Cherubini, Frédéric Chopin, Charles Gounod, George Frideric Handel, Joseph Haydn, Gustav Mahler, Gioachino Rossini, and Giuseppe Verdi.<ref name="Otto E 1972" /><ref name="Stam 2001 p. 637" /> It also contains letters by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, and Richard Wagner, among other musicians.<ref name="Turner p. 291">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The only significant music manuscript that Morgan bought in his lifetime was Beethoven's Violin Sonata in G major, Opus 96, which he acquired in 1907.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Notable specific pieces include two sets of Schubert's Impromptus manuscripts;<ref name="nyt-1983-03-03" /> Andrea Antico's Motetti e Canzone,<ref name="Turner p. 291" /><ref name="Otto E 1972" /> and Mozart's Haffner Symphony.<ref name="Stam 2001 p. 637" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The collection also contains the scraps of paper on which Bob Dylan jotted down "Blowin' in the Wind" and "It Ain't Me Babe".<ref>Template:Cite news; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are several pieces of Victorian-era musical artifacts, such as Gilbert and Sullivan manuscripts and related artifacts.<ref>Wilson, Frederic Woodbridge. The Gilbert and Sullivan Collection Template:Webarchive at The Morgan Library website, accessed May 5, 2010</ref> In 2024, museum staff discovered an unpublished waltz by Chopin, dating from the 1830s, in the collection.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Books

File:Morgan Library Gutenberg Bible.jpg

A Gutenberg Bible on display at the Morgan Library

The collection includes early printed Bibles and other religious works, among them three Gutenberg Bibles,<ref name="Wiegand Davis 1994 p. 4992" /><ref name="Shirey 1970" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> one of six original copies of the first Italian Bible,<ref name="Dashwood 1932" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> one of three known copies of the Constance Missal,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite magazine</ref> a rare copy of the Mainz Psalter,<ref name="Seldis 1966" /><ref name="Dashwood 1932" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Golden Gospels of Henry III.<ref name="R.R. Bowker Company 1913 p. 1229" /> The Morgan also contains material from ancient Egypt and medieval liturgical objects (including Coptic literature examples);<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> William Blake's original drawings for his edition of the Book of Job; and concept drawings for Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.<ref name="Stam 2001 p. 637" /> The Morgan has a collection of ancient Near Eastern cylinder seals: small stone cylinders finely engraved with images for transfer to clay by rolling.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Morgan contains various examples of Latin and Greek literary classics, along with more modern American and European printed books.<ref name="Russell 1988" /> The collection includes numerous examples of fine bookbinding.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These include various bindings of Coptic manuscripts from the 9th and 10th centuries,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the metalwork covers of the Lindau Gospels,<ref name="Seldis 1966" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> copies of books by early British printer William Caxton,<ref name="The New York Times 1949 d369" /> and a binding made for Christina, Queen of Sweden.<ref name="nyt-1959-05-17" />

There are also children's books. For example, the collection includes a book with the first known printing of the rhyme "This Is the House That Jack Built".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, the collection contains the first editions or proofread versions of Struwwelpeter, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Max and Moritz.<ref name="Russell 1986">Template:Cite news</ref>

Visual art

File:Eugène Delacroix - Royal Tiger - Google Art Project.jpg

Royal Tiger by Eugène Delacroix, one of the paintings in the collection

The Morgan contains a large collection of incunabula, prints, and drawings. The collection includes some Old Master paintings collected by Morgan,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as objects like wedding portraits.<ref name="Seldis 1966" /> The Old Master paintings include works by Hans Memling,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Pergam 2017 p. 517">Template:Cite book</ref> Perugino,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Cima da Conegliano.<ref name="Pergam 2017 p. 517" /> Some Old Master works have been sold off over the years, such as Domenico Ghirlandaio's masterpiece Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite book</ref> The collection also includes numerous drawings from 13th-to-19th-century French masters such as Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jacques-Louis David, and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Morgan also holds a set of miniature Rajput paintings.<ref name="Russell 1986" /> Other notable artists of the Morgan Library & Museum include Jean de Brunhoff,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Paul Cézanne,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gaston Phoebus,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Rembrandt van Rijn.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Morgan's collection includes around 12,000 drawings and watercolors dating as far back as the 14th century.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Notable specific objects include twelve William Blake watercolors,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the drawing Bathers by Renoir,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> eight Rembrandt etchings, and 54 drawings by Eugène Delacroix.<ref name="The New York Times 1941 t703" /> The Morgan also has a photography department.<ref name="Johnson 2014" /> The collection includes work from such photographers as Dennis Oppenheim and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and the photographs themselves are collected from various genres and time periods.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other objects

File:Morgan Ruby vase, China, Jingdezhen, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, 1662-1722, porcelain langyao glaze - Morgan Library & Museum - New York City - DSC06538.jpg

A vase in the Morgan Library & Museum's collection

Before J. P. Morgan died, he had acquired a variety of decorations such as a Persian carpet, Genoese and Chinese vases, and an Egyptian carved-stone group.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Washington Post reported in 1914 that the collections included "tapestries, bronzes and silver, Greek antiques, jeweled miniatures, porcelains, ancient jewelry, and wonderful books and manuscripts".<ref name="The Washington Post 1914" /> Among these were royal jewels, 70 pieces of old German silver, 64 miniatures, a set of 15th-century marble and bronze objects, Chinese porcelain, and watches.<ref name="The Washington Post 1914" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Morgan also kept various "knickknacks" such as a four-thousand-year-old Babylonian figure found near Pompeii.<ref name="Strickland 1993">Template:Cite news</ref> The institution once had a reliquary that supposedly included Mary Magdalene's tooth,<ref name="Brake 2010 v340" /> as well as Renaissance-era bronze medals, which have been sold off.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The modern-day museum has a silver-gilt figure of Le Roi de Bourges,<ref name="Callahan 1980">Template:Cite news</ref> and the 12th-century Stavelot Triptych.<ref name="Seldis 1966" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite book</ref> Other notable objects include stage and costume designs from the collection of Donald Oenslager<ref name="Russell 1986" /> and a map of the Palestine region from around 1300.<ref name="nyt-1956-05-15" /> The museum's Gilder Lehrman Collection also contains various maps.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Restitution claims

Over the years, there have been several restitution claims regarding alleged stolen artwork in the Morgan's collection.The Morgan returned two items to Germany in 2001 after the Morgan's officials confirmed that they had been stolen.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2019, an Italian prosecutor claimed that the museum hosted a sacramentary that was stolen in 1925 from the municipality of Apiro.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, the Morgan and several other institutions surrendered seven pieces painted by Egon Schiele after the New York County District Attorney determined that the works had been looted from the collection of Fritz Grünbaum, who was murdered in the Holocaust.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Programming and events

Various events and programs are hosted at the Morgan, such as concerts, films, and lectures.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The museum has hosted concerts and tours since the 1950s,<ref name="Wiegand Davis 1994 p. 4992" /> and it began hosting regular concerts and recitals in Gilder Lehrman Hall in 2006.<ref name="Schweitzer 2006 k752" /> In addition, guided tours of the permanent collection are hosted each afternoon except Monday.<ref name="Nast 2013 l265">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Morgan also operates several classes for school groups.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Parties are hosted at the Morgan annually, such as the Young Fellows Summer Cocktail Party<ref name="Taylor 2013 r712">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Mr. Morgan's Winter Gala.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Morgan hosts exhibits on a variety of topics throughout the year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the mid-20th century, the Morgan's annual exhibits included showcases of recent acquisitionsTemplate:Efn and rare books.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Temporary exhibitions were staged in the annex buildings, while the main building was reserved for Morgan's main collection.<ref name="nyt-1981-12-30" /> Until the Morgan Library's expansion was completed in 1991, the institution had so little space that parts of the permanent collection had to be hidden from view whenever there was a temporary exhibition.<ref name="Forgey 1991">Template:Cite news</ref> Although the 1991 expansion allowed for more temporary exhibitions,<ref name="vt59X">Template:Cite news</ref> the museum could host only one exhibition at once, and it often could not display its permanent collection.<ref name="Gibson 2006" /><ref name="Vogel 2005" /> After the 2006 expansion, it could host multiple exhibitions at once.<ref name="Gibson 2006" /><ref name="Vogel 2005" />

Buildings

Main building

The main building (also known as the McKim Building) was constructed between 1902 and 1906 as the original structure in the complex. It was designed in the Classical Revival style by Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead & White.<ref name="NY1900" /><ref name="nycland" /><ref name="AIA">Template:Cite aia5</ref> The original building occupies a lot of Template:Convert<ref name="New-York Tribune 1906" /><ref name="wsj19060623" /> and was intended to be built in a similar scale to contemporary New York Public Library branches.<ref name="NY1900" /> The center of the original structure contains an extension measuring Template:Convert long, giving the structure a "T" shape;<ref name="New-York Tribune 1906" /> this small wing was intended to connect to a similar structure along 37th Street.<ref name="nyt19070616" /> The original library building is placed behind a solid-bronze fence with hand-twisted bars.<ref name="New-York Tribune 1906" />

Facade

File:Morgan Library McKim Building Edward Clark Potter lions.jpg

Edward Clark Potter's lionesses flank the main entrance

The building has a facade of Tennessee marble,<ref name="TL p. 67" /><ref name="nyt-2022-06-10" /> behind which is an air gap and an interior brick wall.<ref name="New-York Tribune 1906" /> McKim took his inspiration from the Villa Giulia, particularly the attic of its Nymphaeum.<ref name="Roth p. 289" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 3" /><ref name="Wilson p. 219" /> Further inspiration came from the 16th-century Villa Medici in Rome.<ref name="NY1900" /><ref name="Wilson p. 219" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The exterior walls are made of dry masonry, which allowed the marble blocks to be set evenly, thus requiring a minimal amount of mortar.<ref name="wsj19060623" /><ref name="AIA" /><ref name="NYCL-0239">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tinfoil sheeting was placed between the blocks to prevent moisture buildup;<ref name="Roth p. 291" /><ref name="wsj19060623" /> the tinfoil sheeting measures Template:Convert thick and is laid between the horizontal joints.<ref name="Roth p. 291" /> Charles T. Wills was responsible for the dry masonry construction.<ref name="Roth p. 410" /> The Wall Street Journal reported upon the library's completion, "No other building in Europe or America was ever erected with this care."<ref name="wsj19060623" />

The main entrance is a Palladian arch at the center of the 36th Street facade. It is composed of an arched opening Template:Convert wide, flanked by two openings under flat lintels, each of which is Template:Convert wide.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There are two recessed niches on that facade, one on each side of the entrance.<ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 3" /> Surrounding the library is a garden, which covers Template:Convert and contains artifacts from J. P. Morgan's collection.<ref name="nyt-2022-06-10" /><ref name="The Architect's Newspaper 2022" /> The garden also contains pathways embedded with pebbles, which Sicilian craftsman Orazio Porto laid manually.<ref name="Davidson 2022" />

The central archway contains a portico with a groin vaulted ceiling,<ref name="NYCL-0239" /> supported by two Ionic columns on each side.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A flight of steps, leading to the main entrance, is flanked by two lionesses sculpted by Edward Clark Potter, who would later create the two lions that guard the New York Public Library Main Branch.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) pp. 3-4">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Roth p. 292">Template:Harvnb</ref> Above the entranceway are allegorical roundels and panels, which was originally given to Andrew O'Connor<ref name="Roth p. 292" /><ref name="Wilson p. 221">Template:Harvnb</ref> and then reassigned to Adolph Weinman after O'Connor could not complete his contract.<ref name="nycland" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) pp. 3-4" /> These panels depict tragic and lyric poetry.<ref name="Wilson p. 221" /> The portico has a geometric mosaic tile floor with marble.<ref name="Roth p. 292" /> Inside the portico is a 16th-century pair of bronze doors,<ref name="The American Architect 1909">Template:Cite magazine</ref> imported from Florence and made in the style of Lorenzo Ghiberti's doors at the Florence Baptistery.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL-0239" /><ref name="Catterson 2017">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Each door contains five carved bronze panels, which depict allegorical scenes.<ref name="Catterson 2017" /> By the 21st century, the doors were opened extremely infrequently.<ref name="nyt-2006-02-12" /> There are six Doric style pilasters flanking the main entrance.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL-0239" />

Interior

{{#invoke:Gallery|gallery}}

The interior of the main library building is richly decorated, with a polychrome rotunda. It leads to three public rooms: Morgan's private study to the west, the librarian's office to the north, and the original library to the east.<ref name="NY1900" /><ref name="TL p. 69" /><ref name="inside" /> Each of the three rooms had dozens of bookcase doors. As a fireproofing measure, almost nothing in the library was made of wood, except for the bookcases' frames and some doors. The bookcases had glass shelves and were covered with steel grilles.<ref name="The American Architect 1909" /> Morgan also had a steel vault where he kept his most valuable manuscripts,<ref name="TL p. 69" /><ref name="New-York Tribune 1906" /><ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1911" /> such as about 600 Renaissance and medieval manuscripts.<ref name="Johnson 2007 z165" /> There were asbestos shutters that could seal off the building's windows if necessary.<ref name="TL p. 69" /><ref name="New-York Tribune 1906" /> The main building contains Template:Convert of space<ref name="Murdock 2011 k395" /> and has displayed over 300 objects since 2010.<ref name="Pogrebin 2010" /><ref name="Murdock 2011 k395" />

The rotunda has a ceiling with murals and plasterwork inspired by Raphael, created by H. Siddons Mowbray.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="Wilson p. 221" /><ref name="The American Architect 1909" /> On the north side of the ceiling is a half-dome with ten relief panels in a blue-and-white color scheme.<ref name="Walton p. 732">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 5" /> The lunette panels on the west, east, and south sides of the ceiling, measuring Template:Convert high,<ref name="Walton p. 732" /> allude to material in Morgan's collection.<ref>Template:Harvnb; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is also a dome with roundels and decorative rectangular panels,<ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 5">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> as well as an octagonal central skylight.<ref name="Walton p. 733">Template:Harvnb</ref> The rotunda floor is clad with multicolored marble, patterned after the floor of the Villa Pia in Vatican City,<ref name="Wilson p. 221" /><ref name="NYCL p. 4a">Template:Harvnb</ref> and features a porphyry centerpiece.<ref name="Walton p. 732" /> The walls contain mosaic baseboards and are separated into panels with vertical pilasters, topped by Composite style pilasters.<ref name="NYCL p. 4a" /> When the library opened, the rotunda was furnished with two 15th-century chairs and a bronze bust by Benvenuto Cellini.<ref name="Irwin 1927" /><ref name="The American Architect 1909" /> Following a 2010 renovation, the rotunda has several display cases.<ref name="Sheets 2010 t737" /><ref name="Brake 2010 v340" /> The doorways to the rooms on the east and west are made of white marble, topped by marble entablatures and flanked by green marble columns.<ref name="NYCL p. 4a" />

Morgan's study is the West Room.<ref name="The American Architect 1909" /> The design of the study reflected Morgan's tastes; as his son-in-law Herbert Satterlee said, "No one could really know Mr. Morgan at all unless he had seen him in the West Room."<ref name="wsj19990305" /><ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Study">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The West Room contains low wooden bookshelves as well as a fireplace with a marble mantelpiece.<ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 6" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The decorative elements include stained glass panels in the study's windows, as well as a wall covering of red damask.<ref name="Roth p. 291" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 6" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The current damask covering replicates a pattern that was displayed at Rome's Chigi Palace.<ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 6" /><ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Study" /> The coffered ceiling was reportedly purchased in Italian cardinal's palace.<ref name="Roth p. 291" /><ref name="Wilson p. 223" /> The artist James Wall Finn painted coats-of-arms onto the ceiling based on Italian bookplates from Morgan's collection.<ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 6" /><ref name="Wilson p. 223" /> Finn's work was designed in such an authentic manner that it was frequently mistaken as part of the ceiling's original design.<ref name="Wilson p. 223" /> By 2010, the room displayed some of the objects that Morgan collected.<ref name="Brake 2010 v340" />

To the north or rear of the rotunda is the original librarian's office.<ref name="The American Architect 1909" /><ref name="Brake 2010 v340" /> During the mid-20th century, the room was also used as a directors' office.<ref name="Brake 2010 v340" /> Since 2010, the office has been open to the public as a gallery known as the North Room.<ref name="Akers 2010 a118" /><ref name="Pogrebin 2010" /> The space hosts ancient Roman, Greek, and Near Eastern objects, as well as items such as Egyptian figures and ancient seals.<ref name="Cotter2010" /><ref name="Catton p." /> Bookcases are placed on a mezzanine, while the main level includes display cases.<ref name="Brake 2010 v340" />

The East Room (also the library room) is the largest room in the main building<ref name="Roth p. 291" /> and has triple-tiered bookcases.<ref name="nycland" /><ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 5" /> The bookcases were lined with asbestos and encased in glass;<ref name="TL p. 70" /> the original Plexiglas was replaced with acrylic in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Some of the bookcases can be moved, providing access to a stairway to the upper tiers and to a secret compartment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On the east wall of the East Room is a fireplace with a tapestry showing the "Triumph of Avarice".<ref name="Roth p. 291" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 5" /><ref name="Andrews p. 8">Template:Harvnb</ref> The fireplace itself dates from the 15th century<ref name="The American Architect 1909" /> and was imported from Italy.<ref name="Wilson p. 222">Template:Harvnb</ref> Mowbray designed eighteen lunettes and spandrels atop each wall, modeled after the work of Pinturicchio.<ref name="Walton p. 733" /><ref name="Wilson p. 222" /> The figures in the lunettes alternate between allegorical female muses and notable artists, explorers, or teachers.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 5" /> Zodiac symbols are placed on the spandrels, as the signs of the zodiac were particularly important to J. P. Morgan.<ref name="nyt19811230" /><ref name="Walton p. 733" /><ref name="NYCL (1982) pp. 5-6" /> Two additional spandrels contain allegorical motifs that depict changing seasons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NYCL (1982) pp. 5-6">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Madison Avenue and 36th Street annex

The corner of Madison Avenue and 36th Street contains a two-story Italianate style structure designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris, with space for offices, exhibitions, and a research library.<ref name="NY1930" /><ref name="nyt01927-01-30" /> The annex, made of the same Tennessee marble as the original, was completed in 1928.<ref name="Roth p. 410" /><ref name="Strouse 1999" /><ref name="Wilson p. 223" /> It measures Template:Convert,<ref name="nyt01927-01-30" /> with a later Template:Convert addition.<ref name="nyt19750709" /> The Morris annex is accessed by a Template:Convert stair facing 36th Street.<ref name="Pearson p. 104" /> Compared with the main building, the Morris annex is simpler in design.<ref name="nycland" /><ref name="NY1930" /><ref name="AIA" />

The Morris annex included a bookstore until 1991,<ref name="Pearson p. 104" /> when it became a gallery space.<ref name="Gibson 2006" /><ref name="Pearson p. 104" /> After 2006, the gallery space was split up, and the partitions there were removed.<ref name="Budick 2006" /><ref name="Gibson 2006" /> At the center of the Morris annex is the Marble Hall, flanked by the Morgan Stanley Galleries West and East.<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Floor Plan" />

231 Madison Avenue

File:I Morgan Library, New York City, NY, USA (2).jpg

231 Madison Avenue

Also part of the library grounds is 231 Madison Avenue, an Italianate brownstone house on the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 37th Street, which was the home of Isaac Newton Phelps and later J. P. "Jack" Morgan Jr.<ref name="nyt20010826" /> The house contains the Morgan Shop on its northern side, facing 37th Street, and the Morgan Dining Room on its southern side.<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Floor Plan">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The house is set behind a barricade composed of a wrought-iron fence atop a brownstone ledge. The house was originally three stories tall and faced with pink stone, but after R. H. Robertson's renovation of 1888, became four stories tall with a raised basement. An office annex to the east, built in 1957, was originally faced with brick.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 6">Template:Harvnb</ref> Before the Morgan acquired it in 1988, it was a headquarters of the Lutheran Church.<ref name="nyt-1989-03-01" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Facade

The New York Herald Tribune wrote in 1943 that the facade had "a slight suggestion of French Renaissance influence".<ref name="p1282798435" /> The Madison Avenue facade is divided vertically into three bays. An entrance stoop with a balustrade leads up to a central portico with two Corinthian columns flanked by rectangular sash windows. The second and third stories each have three rectangular windows, and a cornice runs above the third story. The attic contains small Ionic colonettes and pediments.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 6" />

Along 37th Street, the water table containing the raised basement is topped by a molding. The original 1853 house to the west and the 1888 extension to the east are divided by a pier. The original section of the house is three bays wide, with a balcony and pediment on the first floor, and oval windows and an oriel window on the second. Within the 1888 extension, the first floor contains a projecting three-sided bay and a windowless arch, and the other two stories contain various windows. The cornice above the third floor, as well as the attic, in both the original house and its extension are similar to on Madison Avenue.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 6" />

The southern facade of the house faces the rest of the library and is mostly obscured behind the 2006 addition. The westernmost portion of that facade, near Madison Avenue, contains rounded first- and second-story windows. There are also three-sided angled windows at the center of that facade.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Interior

Inside the house were 45 rooms.<ref name="p1282798435" /><ref name="nyt-1989-03-01" /><ref name="Klinkenborg a923">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These spaces included a ballroom and 12 restrooms; in addition, the house had 22 fireplaces.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 4" /> After the museum's 1991 expansion, the house contained offices, conference rooms, meeting areas, and a gift shop.<ref name="Goldberger 1991" /><ref name="Forgey 1991" /> In addition, the ground-floor spaces were converted to lecture spaces.<ref name="Pearson p. 104" /> Following a 2006 renovation, one of the house's first-floor rooms was converted to a dining room, while the shop was relocated to another space.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Inside the residence's attic is the Template:Convert Thaw Conservation Center,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which is composed of spaces such as a library, reception area, and conservation rooms.<ref name="AR-2002-10" />

Entrance building and other annexes

File:Interior-Morgan Library-01.jpg

The interior of the Renzo Piano addition

In 2006, three structures were completed to designs by Renzo Piano,<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /><ref name="20th Century Architecture 12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> who worked alongside preservation architect Beyer Blinder Belle.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /><ref name="nycland" /> There are four galleries in this section of the museum: the Clare Eddy Thaw Gallery, the Morgan Stanley Galleries West and East, and the Engelhard Gallery.<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Floor Plan" /> The facades of the new above-ground buildings contain pinkish steel-and-glass curtain walls<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /><ref name="Bendov 2017">Template:Cite book</ref> and are set back slightly from the museum's other structures.<ref name="Rochon 2006">Template:Cite news</ref> The buildings expanded the Morgan Library's area by Template:Convert,<ref name="Swanson 2005" /><ref name="nyt20070420" /><ref name="Bendov 2017" /> much of which is below ground.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" />

Entrance building

The primary structure in that grouping is a four-story, steel-and-glass entrance building on Madison Avenue.<ref name="nycland" /> The structure links McKim's library building, the annex, and the Phelps Stokes/Morgan house.<ref name="nyt20070420" /><ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Expansion">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The steel structural members are covered in rose-tinted paint as an allusion to the designs of main library and Phelps Stokes/Morgan house.<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Expansion" /> Although externally inconspicuous, the building links the interior spaces of the complex.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /><ref name="AIA" /> Inside the structure, a glass elevator links the different levels.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /><ref name="Newhouse p. 99">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The entrance building contains the JPMorgan Chase Lobby,<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Floor Plan" /> a space clad in cherry wood.<ref name="Budick 2006" /><ref name="Newhouse p. 99" /> Stairs lead up to the Morgan Shop and Morgan Dining Room, and there is an admission counter and coat room. The south wall has a corridor to the Morris annex and stairs to the second-floor Engelhard Gallery,<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Floor Plan" /> the latter of which is a temporary-exhibition space.<ref name="Budick 2006" /> The Sherman Fairchild Reading Room, the museum's research library, is located on the top floor of the Madison Avenue pavilion<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Byard p. 64">Template:Harvnb</ref> and has balconies and a skylight.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /> At the northeast corner of the entrance building<ref name="Byard p. 64" /> is Gilder Lehrman Hall, an auditorium about Template:Convert below street level.<ref name="Newhouse p. 93" /><ref name="Bendov 2017" /> Lehrman Hall has 280 seats.<ref name="nyt-2005-04-28" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Efn New storage rooms were also created by drilling into Manhattan's bedrock schist.<ref name="Bendov 2017" /><ref name="nyt-2005-04-28">Template:Cite news</ref> The underground rooms exten Template:Convert deep and contain much of the Morgan Library's collection.<ref name="Swanson 2006" />

Adjacent structures

Gilbert Court, a covered courtyard at the center of the complex,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite book</ref> surrounds the entrance building on the north, east, and south.<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Floor Plan" /> The courtyard is topped by a Template:Convert glass roof.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /><ref name="Newhouse p. 97" /> On the south wall of the court is the Clare Eddy Thaw Gallery,<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Floor Plan" /> a Template:Convert space inspired by Renaissance chambers that Piano observed in Italy.<ref name="Swanson 2006" /><ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Expansion" /><ref name="Bendov 2017" /> At the court's southeast corner, stairs lead up to the original Morgan Library building, connecting to a vestibule between Morgan's study (the West Library) and the rotunda.<ref name="The Morgan Library & Museum Floor Plan" /> There is also a structure next to 231 Madison Avenue, with ancillary areas and offices,<ref name="20th Century Architecture 12" /> in addition to a loading dock.<ref name="Newhouse p. 97" />

Former structures

The 2006 annexes replaced all of the additions built after 1928.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /><ref name="Newhouse p. 97" /> These included a glass conservatory called the Garden Court, which was designed by Bartholomew Voorsanger and completed in 1991. The Garden Court had a curved roof measuring Template:Convert tall.<ref name="Lipson 1991" /><ref name="Goldberger 1991" /> Under the roof was a vaulted space with plants selected by landscape architect Dan Kiley.<ref name="Goldberger 1991" /><ref name="Pearson p. 98">Template:Harvnb</ref> The roof was supported by a Template:Convert truss and was covered by clear laminated glass to allow the plants to grow.<ref name="Pearson p. 98" /> The space also had metal-and-translucent-glass wall panels and a limestone wall on Madison Avenue.<ref name="Pearson p. 98" /><ref name="Forgey 1991" /> There was a vestibule connecting with the Morris annex to the south.<ref name="Pearson p. 104" />

The post-1928 annexes also included a cloister structure between the main building and the Morris annex, built in 1960.<ref name="Roth p. 410" /> A five-story, Template:Convert expansion was built in 1975 and designed by Platt, Wyckoff & Coles, with storage vaults and offices.<ref name="nyt19750709" />

Operation

Management

File:Morgan Library & Museum, New York 2017 34.jpg

Interior of one of the 2006 annex buildings

The Morgan Library & Museum is operated by a nonprofit organization of the same name, which is dedicated to conserving the artworks in the museum's collection.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Colin Bailey has been the director of the Morgan Library & Museum since 2015.<ref name="Pobric 2015 p809" /> As a result of a 2024 donation from Katharine Rayner, the director's position is known as the Katharine J. Rayner Director until 2049.<ref name="Goukassian 2024 g840" /><ref name="Lifestyles Magazine v161" /> The museum is administered by a board of trustees.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:As of, Robert K. Steel and G. Scott Clemons were the co-presidents of the museum's board of trustees.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Until 1981, the president of the museum was a Morgan family member.<ref name="The New York Times 1981 v425">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Previous museum presidents have included Jack Morgan's sons Junius Spencer Morgan III<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Henry Sturgis Morgan.<ref name="The New York Times 1981 v425" /> Other notable people in the museum's history have included Felice Stampfle, who was appointed the first Curator of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan Library in 1945.<ref>Template:Cite news; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of the museum's past staff have donated objects to the collection, such as longtime librarian Curt F. Bühler, who donated illuminated manuscripts upon his death in 1985.<ref name="Russell 1986" />

Attendance and funding

Template:AnchorTemplate:As of, the museum accommodates 250,000 in-person visitors annually, while its online programming serves seven million additional people each year.<ref name="Tremayne-Pengelly 2023 j811" /> Starting in January 2024, college students have been able to visit for free on the first Sunday of each month.<ref name="Culgan 2023 p604" /> The museum also allows visitors to reserve tickets for free admission on Friday evenings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to the Condé Nast Traveler, most visitors are tourists, though local residents also visit the museum whenever there was an event or new exhibition.<ref name="Nast 2013 l265" />

Template:AnchorJack Morgan established a $1.5 million endowment fund for the Pierpont Morgan Library when it was opened to researchers in 1924.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1924" /><ref name="The New York Times 1924 m054" /> The endowment had grown to $53.5 million by the mid-1990s<ref name="nyt-1995-11-09" /> and $105 million by the early 2000s.<ref name="Pierce 2003" /> Template:As of, the museum recorded revenue of $23.7 million, expenses of $31.4 million, total assets of $386 million, and liabilities of $19.5 million.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Reception and commentary

Collection commentary

File:Morgan Library & Museum, New York 2017 09.jpg

Bookshelves in the Morgan Library

A correspondent for the London Times, in 1908, characterized John Pierpont Morgan as "probably the greatest collector of things splendid and beautiful and rare who has ever lived".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="TL p. 69" /> In 1927, after the library became a research institution, one writer for the New York Herald Tribune called it "a temple of white marble, most fair and proportionate yet with an air of secret exclusiveness".<ref name="Irwin 1927" /> A writer for The Christian Science Monitor said in 1961 that the library housed "one of the most important private art collections in the world",<ref name="Pastore 1961" /> and the Los Angeles Times wrote in 1966 that the Morgan Library was "a source of aesthetic refreshment and intellectual stimulation in any season".<ref name="Seldis 1966">Template:Cite news</ref> Another writer in 1969 described the Morgan as shunning publicity and that the collection of illuminated manuscripts, book bindings, and drawings was "unsurpassed in the Western Hemisphere".<ref name="Pahlmann 1969">Template:Cite news</ref>

A Newsweek article from 1970 described the library as having a "regal atmosphere",<ref name="Shirey 1970" /> and a 1974 article from the same magazine called the library a symbol of the "patronage and connoisseurship" of the early 20th century.<ref name="Davis 1974" /> The Globe and Mail described the library in 1980 as a "treasure trove of early art".<ref name="Callahan 1980" /> A writer for The New York Times Magazine said in 1994 that she felt the library was inviting, despite its formidable appearance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1998, a reporter for The Journal News described the library as "a hushed and shady refuge from the city's sweltering asphalt".<ref name="vt59X" /> During the 2000s, a writer for the Chicago Tribune said that, although the Morgan was "a bibliophile's vision of paradise on Earth", it had a lower profile than other New York City museums because of its location.<ref name="Swanson 2005" /> A 21st-century review from the Condé Nast Traveler said: "The Morgan is like a multi-hyphenate millennial—only instead of actress/model/influencer/whatever leads to early retirement, it's museum/library/landmark/historic site/music venue."<ref name="Nast 2013 l265" /> A Fodor's review described the museum as having an "exceptional" collection of artifacts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Architectural reception

Architectural commentary

Several publications praised the library after its completion.<ref name="Roth p. 292" /> In 1906, the Real Estate Record and Guide wrote of McKim, Mead & White: "the new Morgan Library, in Thirty-sixth street, is among their most carefully studied designs."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The library building was described in another publication as "one of the Seven Wonders of the Edwardian World",<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while Architectural Review called it "icy and exquisite".<ref name="nyt-2006-02-12" /> In a 1932 survey of 50 American architects, eleven ranked the Morgan Library as the United States' best building.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> A 1969 news article described the interiors' opulence as "almost indescribable",<ref name="Pahlmann 1969" /> and Newsweek called Morgan's study as emblematic of "his taste, his power and his vanity".<ref name="Davis 1974" /> Morgan's private study was described by historian Wayne Andrews as "one of the greatest achievements of American interior decoration".<ref name="NYCL (1982) p. 6" /><ref name="Andrews p. 8" /> Paul Goldberger wrote in 1981 that the main building's facade represented "rigorous, not fanciful, classicism" and the interiors were "very rich and very cold".<ref name="nyt-1981-12-30" />

The annexes received mixed reviews. Architectural historian Robert A. M. Stern said the 1928 addition "did not frame McKim's jewel box so much as sidle up to it like an unattractive sibling",<ref name="NY1930" /> and Washington Post reporter Benjamin Forgey said it was "not nearly so exquisite" as the original structure.<ref name="Forgey 1991" /> Conversely, Norval White and Elliot Willensky thought the 1928 annex "modestly defers to its master".<ref name="AIA" /> Goldberger described the Garden Court in 1991 as having "a sleek, almost brittle quality",<ref name="Goldberger 1991" /> and Forgey described the conservatory as helping create "a definable low-rise historical place in high-rise New York".<ref name="Forgey 1991" />

When the Piano annex opened in 2006, Ada Louise Huxtable wrote that the museum was "cool in its understated excellence, its laid-back drama, the refinement of its details", as opposed to the old museum, which was "hot" because it was outwardly extravagant.<ref name="wsj-2006-06-082" /> Although Newsday and the Wall Street Journal both described the new entrance atrium as inviting,<ref name="Budick 2006" /><ref name="Gibson 2006" /> the Architectural Record criticized the atrium as not being distinctive.<ref name="Newhouse p. 99" /> The Financial Times wrote that the 2006 annex's "luminous steel and glass spaces, was as radically different to the heavy stone and dense ornament of the library as was possible".<ref name="Financial Times d265" /> Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times wrote of Lehrman Hall in 2025: "The space is precipitously raked and feels stifling, with flinty acoustics."<ref name=nyt-2025-05-12>Template:Cite news</ref>

Landmark designations

231 Madison Avenue was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in 1965, being one of the first structures protected under New York City's landmarks law.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /> The Lutheran Church, then the owner of 231 Madison Avenue, had hoped to erect an office structure on the site of the Phelps Stokes/Morgan house<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and heavily opposed the house's designation. As a result, in 1974, the landmark status was removed from that house following a New York Court of Appeals ruling.<ref name="NYCL (2002) p. 5" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the Morgan acquired 231 Madison Avenue, that house was re-designated as a city landmark in 2002; the Morgan did not oppose the designation.<ref name="Dunlap 2002" />

In 1952, the Municipal Art Society and the Society of Architects' New York chapter published a list of 20 buildings in the city that should "be preserved at all costs".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The main library building on 36th Street was the only 20th-century building on that list.<ref name="nyt-1960-09-06" /><ref name="Pahlmann 1969" /> The LPC designated the exterior of the library's main building as a city landmark in 1966,<ref name="nycland" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and that structure was declared a National Historic Landmark the same year.<ref name="nhlsum">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1982, the main library building's interior was designated a city landmark.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the 1991 renovation made the main building wheelchair-accessible, the LPC gave the library an excellence award.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Media

The Morgan has also occasionally appeared in works of popular culture.<ref name="OKeefe 2020 t319" /> E. L. Doctorow's 1975 novel Ragtime and its 1981 film adaptation depicted the library as a symbol of the wealthy.<ref name="Kissel 2006 c935" /> In addition, part of the Netflix TV series Dash & Lily was filmed in the museum.<ref name="OKeefe 2020 t319">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
• List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets

References

Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

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• Virtual tour of the Morgan Library & Museum provided by Google Arts & Culture