Morgan Library & Museum

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McKim Building of the Pierpont Morgan Library from 1902-06
Interior view of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1963
Morgan Library, old building and extension

The Morgan Library & Museum (official name since 2006, known as Pierpont Morgan Library , Morgan Library, or The Morgan ) is a library on Madison Avenue in Manhattan , New York City . It has an excellent collection of manuscripts , papyri , incunabula , early prints, illustrated books, musical autographs and graphics. The basis of the library is the private library of the American banker JP Morgan . Its main building has been a National Historic Landmark since November 1966 and is accordingly entered on the National Register of Historic Places .

History of the library

JP Morgan, who works in Europe a. a. Having completed his studies in Göttingen , he built up a huge economic empire on his return to America. Around 1890 he began to systematically purchase important and valuable manuscripts and books, especially from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as autographs , hand drawings and rare books in particularly valuable bindings . For the constantly growing collection, he had his own library built in the Italian Renaissance style next to his house in Manhattan. The library building was completed in 1906.
In 1924, Morgan's son John Pierpont Morgan Jr. opened the library to the public. It still serves as a library, museum and international research center today.

Collections united in the library

In 1912, Morgan acquired the Amherst Papyri , a collection of Egyptian, Coptic and Greek papyri from the collection of Lord Amherst of Hackney . The library has maintained most of the Colt Archaeological Institute's papyri since 1937. The library bought collections from James Toovey, Theodore Irvin, Richard Bennet, and Richard Morris. Some collections were donated to the museum: the Glazier manuscripts by William S. Glazier (1907–1962), the Heineman manuscripts by Dannie N. Heineman (1872–1962), the Bühler manuscripts by Dr. Curt F. Bühler (1905-1985), the Stillman manuscripts by E. Clark Stillman (1907-1995) and the Wightman manuscripts by Julia Parker Wightman (1909-1994).

Buildings and extensions

The old library building, the McKim Building by Charles McKim ( McKim, Mead, and White Architects ) from 1902 to 1906, is at 33 East 36th Street, then adjacent to JP Morgan's home at 219 Madison Avenue. The McKim Building is based on the nymphaeum of Villa Giulia and Villa Medici in Rome.

The house was demolished in 1928 and replaced by an exhibition hall with a reading room by the architect Benjamin Wistar Morris .

The 231 Madison Avenue building (corner building on 37th Street) was built in 1852/53 for the Phelps, Stokes and Dodge families , acquired by JP Morgan in 1904 and inhabited by JP Morgan, Jr. from 1905 to 1943 and then by the Lutheran Church in America bought as headquarters. In 1988 it was acquired by the Morgan Library.

From 2000, the architect Renzo Piano redesigned the building complex to enlarge the exhibition area and designed a four-story extension. Glass walls connect the old and new parts of the museum. It reopened on April 29, 2006.

Head of the library

  1. Belle da Costa Greene until 1948
  2. Frederick Baldwin Adams , Jr. 1948-1969
  3. Charles Ryskamp , 1969–1987
  4. Charles E. Pierce, Jr. 1987-2007
  5. William M. Griswold 2007-2014
  6. Colin B. Bailey 2015–

Important works

Stavelot triptych

literature

  • The master's hand. Drawings and manuscripts from the Pierpont Morgan Library New York / Von Meisterhand. Drawings, scores and autographs from the Pierpont Morgan Library New York ; [Museum Jean Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland, October 21, 1998 to January 24, 1999; Städelsches Kunstinstitut and Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, February 17 to May 2, 1999]. Hatje, Ostfildern-Ruit 1998, ISBN 3-7757-0754-9 .
  • Paul Spencer Byard: The making of the Morgan from Charles McKim to Renzo Piano . Morgan Library & Museum, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-87598-149-9 .

Web links

Commons : Morgan Library & Museum  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: New York. National Park Service , accessed October 25, 2019.
    National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination (PDF; 263 kB) National Park Service. July 18, 1975. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
    Morgan, Pierpont, Library on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed November 21, 2019.
  2. ↑ History of the collection .
  3. ↑ Andrew S. Dolkart, Mathew A. Postal: Guide to New York City Landmarks , 3rd Edition, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York 2004, ISBN 0-471-36900-4 , p. 98.

Coordinates: 40 ° 44 ′ 55.7 "  N , 73 ° 58 ′ 53.6"  W.