Misplaced Pages

#424575

98-694: The Morgan Library & Museum (originally known as the Pierpont Morgan Library ; colloquially the Morgan ) is a museum and research library at 225 Madison Avenue in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City , New York, U.S. Completed in 1906 as the private library of the banker J. P. Morgan , the institution has more than 350,000 objects. As of 2024, the museum is directed by Colin B. Bailey and governed by

196-473: A Charles Dickens manuscript of A Christmas Carol ; a J. M. Barrie manuscript; and original drawings for The Pickwick Papers and the Book of Job . The collection also includes manuscripts of poems by Robert Burns ; nine of Walter Scott 's novels; Alexander Pope 's poem An Essay on Man ; John Keats 's poem Endymion ; Francis Bacon 's book Novum Organum , Edgar Allan Poe 's short story " A Tale of

294-449: A reliquary that supposedly included Mary Magdalene 's tooth, as well as Renaissance-era bronze medals, which have been sold off. Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City , United States , that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street ) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Street , passing through Midtown ,

392-491: A 75-by-100-foot (23 by 30 m) plot of land on 36th Street, for a library. The site had been occupied by two brownstone homes at 35 and 37 East 36th Street, which Morgan promptly razed. In 1902, Morgan acquired two more lots on 66th Street with a total frontage of 50 feet (15 m). 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 . The Satterlees' house

490-491: 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

588-582: A bookstore. The library's artworks were also extensively cleaned, display cases were added to the original East Library, and the West Study was opened to the public. The expansion was finished in October 1991. The project was originally planned to cost $ 9–10 million but ultimately cost $ 15 million. The Morgan finished raising $ 40 million in November 1992. Visitor numbers had increased by the mid-1990s, and

686-525: A building in New York City, he had been selected because of his experience designing buildings in various styles and geographical contexts. The plans called for new exhibit areas, a reading room, an auditorium, and more storage space. The Morgan planned to raise $ 25 million for maintenance and $ 100 million for the renovation itself. Despite the September 11 attacks , the Morgan decided to proceed with

784-485: A drawing center on the second floor of the annex, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, in 1999. The same year, the Morgan received $ 10 million from Eugene V. Thaw and Clare E. Thaw; these funds were used to establish the Thaw Conservation Center, completed in 2002. 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;

882-627: A large collection of incunabula , prints, and drawings. The collection includes some Old Master paintings collected by Morgan, as well as objects like wedding portraits. The Old Master paintings include works by Hans Memling , Perugino , and Cima da Conegliano . Some Old Master works have been sold off over the years, such as Domenico Ghirlandaio 's masterpiece Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni . 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 . The Morgan also holds

980-512: A neighbor told him that white marble would make the building look like a mausoleum. By early 1903, workers were laying the foundation for the library. Construction began that April, and the library was being dubbed as "Mr. Morgan's jewel case" by the next year. Few details of the library were given out during construction, as Morgan prohibited the workers from talking to the press. The Wall Street Journal reported in June 1906 that Morgan had "wanted

1078-414: A photography department. 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. 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. The Washington Post reported in 1914 that

SECTION 10

#1732765163425

1176-553: A public institution in 2024. To celebrate its centennial, the museum began raising $ 50 million in 2023, including $ 35 million for its endowment and $ 15 million for capital improvements. The heiress Katharine Rayner donated $ 10 million to endow the director's position, which was renamed in her honor in early 2024, and the Jerome L. Greene Foundation donated another $ 5 million. John Pierpont Morgan's original collection included porcelains, triptychs, books, and manuscripts. The collection of

1274-526: A reading room that owed more to 1928 instead of 2006." 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. Ultimately, the board hired the Italian architect Renzo Piano (who had not participated in the original competition), along with Beyer Blinder Belle. Although Piano had not previously designed

1372-550: A set of miniature Rajput paintings . Other notable artists of the Morgan Library & Museum include Jean de Brunhoff , Paul Cézanne , Gaston Phoebus , and Rembrandt van Rijn . The Morgan's collection includes around 12,000 drawings and watercolors dating as far back as the 14th century. Notable specific objects include twelve William Blake watercolors, the drawing Bathers by Renoir , eight Rembrandt etchings, and 54 drawings by Eugène Delacroix . The Morgan also has

1470-466: A skilled cabinetmaker. Gustave took his stepfather's surname, and later added the "e" to the end of his given name. His half-brother, Christian Augustus Ludwig Herter, was born in 1839. The boys followed their stepfather/father in the furniture-making trade. Gustave Herter came to New York City in 1848, and by 1858 was working under his own name. Christian was in New York by 1859, and joined his brother in

1568-506: A vehicle other than a bus in the bus lane on Madison Avenue to turn right during the restricted hours specified by sign between 42nd Street and 59th Street is prohibited, then permitted at 60th Street, but a taxicab carrying a passenger may use the bus lane to turn right at 46th Street. Bikes are excluded from this prohibition. In July 1987, then- New York City Mayor Edward Koch proposed banning bicycling on Fifth, Park and Madison Avenues during weekdays, but many bicyclists protested and had

1666-513: Is a 6.2-acre (2.5-hectare) public park which runs along Madison Avenue from East 26th Street to East 23rd Street . It is bordered on the west by Fifth Avenue and Broadway as they cross. The park was named for James Madison , fourth President of the United States . Madison Square Garden took its name from the location of the first building of that name , located on the northeast corner of Madison Avenue at 26th Street, across from

1764-615: 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 contains 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,

1862-598: Is often used metonymically to stand for the American advertising industry. Madison Avenue became identified with advertising after that sector's explosive growth in this area in the 1920s. According to "The Emergence of Advertising in America", by the year 1861, there were 20 advertising agencies in New York City, and the New York City Association of Advertising Agencies was founded in 1911, predating

1960-574: Is served by the following routes uptown. All crosstown service is eastbound unless specified below. Downtown service runs along 5th Avenue: Although no New York City Subway stations are named after Madison Avenue, the Fifth Avenue/53rd Street station on the E and ​ M trains has an entrance on Madison Avenue. Pursuant to Section 4-12(m) of the New York City Traffic Rules, driving

2058-585: Is the John Thatcher home, now the Rosemount Museum, in Pueblo, Colorado (however, this work was carried out by the firm after the death of Christian Herter and the retirement of his brother, Gustave; connoisseurs and collectors tend to concentrate on the furniture and interiors designed during the brothers' supervision of the firm). Examples of Herter furniture are in major public collections in

SECTION 20

#1732765163425

2156-531: The Southern Cross . The collection includes notebooks and journals as well. These include the notebooks of Percy Bysshe Shelley , Nathaniel Hawthorne , Tennessee Williams , and Henry David Thoreau . Diaries are also displayed, including those of Queen Victoria , pirate Bartholomew Sharp , writer E. B. White , and J. P. Morgan Sr. himself. The Morgan Library & Museum also houses a sizable musical manuscript collection. A 1998 magazine article about

2254-487: The United States Declaration of Independence . There are many letters in the collection, some dating as far back as ancient Babylonian times. The Morgan holds original letters by Napoleon , Horace Walpole , Voltaire , Francesco Filelfo , John Cheever , Thomas Pynchon , Vincent van Gogh , and George Beaumont . There is also a rare 1516 letter from Andrea Corsali with the first description of

2352-554: The Upper East Side (including Carnegie Hill ), East Harlem , and Harlem . It is named after and arises from Madison Square, which is itself named after James Madison , the fourth President of the United States . Madison Avenue was not part of the original Manhattan street grid established in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , and was carved between Park Avenue (formerly Fourth) and Fifth Avenue in 1836, due to

2450-768: The $ 11 million endowment was expanded to $ 38 million. By the early 1970s, the Morgan Library had several hundred fellows, or members, and Ryskamp wanted to attract more visitors to the library. The Morgan Library constructed a five-story addition with storage vaults and offices in 1975. The library continued to acquire other collections in the 1970s and 1980s, including the musical manuscript collection of Mary Flagler Cary ; 1,500 Italian drawings from János Scholz ; Dannie Heineman 's collection of letters, books, and newspaper clippings; part of Robin Lehman 's music manuscript collection; and 75 rare manuscripts from William S. Glazier. Ryskamp also arranged various temporary exhibitions. During

2548-700: The 1830s, in the collection. The collection includes early printed Bibles and other religious works, among them three Gutenberg Bibles , one of six original copies of the first Italian Bible, one of three known copies of the Constance Missal , a rare copy of the Mainz Psalter , and the Golden Gospels of Henry III . The Morgan also contains material from ancient Egypt and medieval liturgical objects (including Coptic literature examples); William Blake ]'s original drawings for his edition of

2646-468: The 1920s. Thus, the term "Madison Avenue" refers specifically to the agencies and methodology of advertising. "Madison Avenue techniques" refers, according to William Safire , to the "gimmicky, slick use of the communications media to play on emotions." Madison Avenue carries one-way traffic uptown (northbound) from East 23rd Street to East 135th Street , with the changeover from two-way traffic taking place on January 14, 1966, at which time Fifth Avenue

2744-449: The 1980s, the library raised $ 1.5 million each year for its operating budget, in addition to funding for repairs. The institution received a $ 1 million grant for the preservation of its printed books (the largest donation it had ever received at the time) and a $ 600,000 matching grant for its conservation department in 1981. In the mid-1980s, the institution was officially renamed the Morgan Library. Ryskamp resigned as director in 1986 and

2842-431: 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. Through the early 1940s, the Morgan Library continued to limit access only to researchers, prompting city officials to request that the library's tax-exempt status be removed because it was not a public library. In December 1942, Morgan Library officials agreed to open

2940-725: The 9th and 10th centuries, the metalwork covers of the Lindau Gospels , copies of books by early British printer William Caxton , and a binding made for Christina, Queen of Sweden . 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 ". In addition, the collection contains the first editions or proofread versions of Struwwelpeter , Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , and Max and Moritz . The Morgan contains

3038-547: The Book of Job ; and concept drawings for Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince . The Morgan has a collection of ancient Near Eastern cylinder seals : small stone cylinders finely engraved with images for transfer to clay by rolling. The Morgan contains various examples of Latin and Greek literary classics, along with more modern American and European printed books. The collection includes numerous examples of fine bookbinding . These include various bindings of Coptic manuscripts from

Morgan Library & Museum - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-623: The Herter Brothers’ most prominent clients include J. Pierpont Morgan, Jay Gould, Cyrus McCormack. The Red Room of the White House was furnished with Herter Brothers furniture during the administration of Ulysses S. Grant . Several pieces of Herter Brothers furniture remain in the White House including a center table and a slipper chair. This center table bears the remains of the only known Herter Brothers paper label; generally

3234-632: The Herters' interior design schemes, including lavishly carved and inlaid woodwork and frescoed walls and ceilings. The drawing room was recently restored by John Canning & Co. (formerly John Canning Studios) and retains a suite of Herter furniture purchased for it by the home's second owner, Charles D. Mathews. Furniture from an early Herter commission survives in Victoria Mansion in Portland, Maine . A notable surviving Herter interior

3332-409: The Morgan Library & Museum contained more than 350,000 objects by the early 21st century. One late-20th-century reporter described the collection as including a variety of "almost random treasures". The library's online catalog, Corsair, contains records for many of the collection's objects. The Morgan Library & Museum has long contained a collection of illuminated manuscripts , which date from

3430-583: The Morgan Library announced plans for an annex in January 1927. Though Jack initially denied that 219 Madison Avenue would be demolished, that house was ultimately razed. Benjamin Wistar Morris was hired to design the annex, while Marc Eidlitz & Son was hired to build it. The annex was completed in 1928. The Morgan Library continued to expand its collections; for instance, between 1936 and 1940, it acquired twelve manuscripts and dozens of drawings. In

3528-568: The Murray Hill section of Madison Avenue by the 1960s. The Pierpont Morgan Library was incorporated as a public institution in March 1924, 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. 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. The Morgans transferred

3626-524: The Park. The first Garden was a former railroad terminal for the Park Avenue main line , which was converted into an open-air circus venue by P. T. Barnum in 1871 and was renamed "Madison Square Garden" in 1879. (The New York Life Insurance Building now occupies that entire city block.) The original Garden was demolished in 1889 and replaced by a new indoor arena designed by Stanford White that opened

3724-498: The Ragged Mountains "; and Ernest Hemingway 's short story " Three Stories and Ten Poems ". There are also writings from Émile Zola , Victor Hugo , Marie Antoinette , George Sand , Alexandre Dumas , Thomas Moore , Jane Austen , John Milton , John Ruskin , and Honoré de Balzac . Other documents in the Morgan's collection are a collection of 64 Central European manuscripts and one of about two dozen original prints of

3822-476: 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. By 1900, Morgan's collection took up more space than was available in his residence, and his son-in-law described the basement as being packed with piles of objects. Some of his collection had to be stored at the Lenox Library . Morgan was unable to expand

3920-677: 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. The banker John Pierpont Morgan , who lived at 6 East 40th Street in the 1870s, 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. Morgan sought to buy John Jay Phelps's house at 219 Madison Avenue, at

4018-545: The ban overturned. When the trial was started on Monday, August 24, 1987, for 90 days to ban bicyclists from these three avenues from 31st Street to 59th Street between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, mopeds would not be banned. Herter Brothers Gustave was born illegitimate in 1830, to Johanna Christiana Maria Barbara Hagenlocher and an unnamed father, in Stuttgart , Württemberg , Germany. Five years later, Johanna Hagenlocher married Christian Herter (1807–1874),

Morgan Library & Museum - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-717: The basement of his New York residence. J. P. Morgan's collection included 160 titles by 1883. The collection grew quickly after his father died in 1890. Morgan began acquiring historically important manuscripts after his father obtained Walter Scott 's original manuscript of the book Guy Mannering . From 1899 to 1902 alone, he took over three collectors' libraries, which included hundreds of illuminated manuscripts, prints, and other manuscripts. Morgan also acquired smaller collections, such as French literature, medieval chivalry, and American manuscript collections. Morgan may have collected these objects exclusively for pleasure and not for investment purposes. Morgan brought his art collection to

4214-438: The cash bequests in his father's will. The next year, the collection was valued at $ 7.5 million for taxation purposes. Jack and Jane Morgan continued to employ Greene as the librarian, adding items that personally interested them. Frances Morgan, Jack's mother and John Pierpont's widow, lived at J. P. Morgan's old residence until her death in November 1924. By then, despite Jack's opposition, the surrounding stretch of Madison Avenue

4312-468: The city made New York the third-largest job market per capita in the U.S. in 2016, according to a study by marketing recruitment firm MarketPro. Today, several agencies are still located in the old business cluster on Madison Avenue, including StrawberryFrog, TBWA Worldwide , Organic, Inc. , and DDB Worldwide . However, the term is still used to describe the agency business as a whole and large, New York–based agencies in particular. Madison Square Park

4410-444: The collection "permanently available for the instruction and pleasure of the American people". 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. 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. Jack sold off much of

4508-626: The collection described it as containing 1,250 music manuscripts; 1,900 pieces of music-related literature; and 7,000 letters written by musicians. 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 . It also contains letters by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Felix Mendelssohn , and Richard Wagner , among other musicians. The only significant music manuscript that Morgan bought in his lifetime

4606-415: The collection. Acquisitions continued until his death in March 1913. Morgan had bought thousands of objects since 1899, including 600 manuscripts and 3,000 medieval items. Morgan's estate was valued at $ 128 million (about $ 2.904 billion in 2023), over half of which lay in the worth of his collection. J. P. Morgan bequeathed all except one piece in the collection to the library, with the request that Jack make

4704-478: The collections and distribute funds to scholars and publications. After Belle da Costa Greene retired from the library in 1948, Frederick Baldwin Adams Jr. was appointed as the Morgan's second director. The Morgan Library started to host concerts and tours during the 1950s, and it also acquired items such as a collection of 1,375 letters from a British dealer. Officials began raising $ 3 million for an expansion of

4802-456: The collections included "tapestries, bronzes and silver, Greek antiques, jeweled miniatures, porcelains, ancient jewelry, and wonderful books and manuscripts". 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. Morgan also kept various "knickknacks" such as a four-thousand-year-old Babylonian figure found near Pompeii . The institution once had

4900-468: The corner with 36th Street, which was offered for $ 225,000. He acquired the house in 1880 and renovated it over the following two years, moving there in 1882. The exterior design was largely retained, but the interior was extensively renovated by the Herter Brothers . Morgan had collected handwriting samples as early as the 1850s, and he also acquired pictures and stained glass pieces throughout

4998-513: The couple moved into the Dodge mansion. 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". Jack initially lived nearby at 22 Park Avenue. 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

SECTION 50

#1732765163425

5096-402: The effort of lawyer and real estate developer Samuel B. Ruggles , who had previously purchased and developed New York's Gramercy Park in 1831, and convinced the authorities to create Lexington Avenue and Irving Place between Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue South) and Third Avenue in order to service it. The street's name has been metonymous with the American advertising industry since

5194-598: The elaborately decorated New York Yacht Club Building , and Warren had wanted to design a domed structure. Morgan's preference for an austere structure may have led him to reject Warren and Wetmore. He instead hired Charles McKim of McKim, Mead & White to design the library in 1902. C. T. Wills was hired as the builder. The library was to be a classical marble structure with a simple design; Morgan had told McKim that he wanted "a gem". McKim's designs were traditional for their time, while those who wanted more fashionable designs typically hired McKim's partner Stanford White . At

5292-528: The entire library be shortened by one foot. 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. Morgan's library had cost $ 1.2 million (equivalent to $ 30.504 million in 2023). During the Panic of 1907 ,

5390-614: The establishment of the American Association of Advertising Agencies by several years. Among various depictions in popular culture, the portion of the advertising industry which centers on Madison Avenue serves as a backdrop for the AMC television drama Mad Men , which focuses on industry activities during the 1960s. In recent decades, many agencies have left Madison Avenue, with some moving further downtown and others moving west. The continued presence of large agencies in

5488-457: The expansion. The library presented preliminary plans to the LPC in January 2002. The LPC approved the proposal shortly afterward, despite concerns about the design from Manhattan Community Board 6 and the architect Robert A. M. Stern . In May 2003, the Morgan Library's buildings were closed for construction and expansion, and the collection was placed into storage or moved to other institutions. At

5586-553: The firm (renamed Herter Brothers) by 1864. The firm was at the forefront of the panoply of furnishing styles that preceded the Mission style : Renaissance Revival, Neo-Grec, Eastlake , the Aesthetic Movement , ebonized " Anglo-Japanese style " furnishings of the 1870s – 1880s for which the firm is best recognized today, and the wide range of furnishings in revival styles required for Gilded Age houses. Some of

5684-477: The firm stamped their furniture, a common practice in the 19th century. Among their most prominent clients were the Vanderbilts. Between 1879 and 1882, Herter Brothers decorated William Henry Vanderbilt 's new Fifth Avenue mansion. However, many of the Herter Brothers’ original furnishings were dispersed between 1915 and 1916, when the house was redecorated. At 634 Fifth Avenue, in 1880–1882, they decorated

5782-1068: The following year. The second Garden had a bronze statue of the Roman goddess Diana on the tower of the sports arena. When it moved to a new building at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in 1925 it kept its old name. Madison Square Garden is now located at Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Street; however, it still retains the name. Retail brands with locations on Madison Avenue include: Burberry , Manrico Cashmere, Brooks Brothers , Alexander McQueen , Hermès , Tom Ford , Céline , Proenza Schouler , Lanvin , Valentino, Stuart Weitzman , Damiani, Emporio Armani , Prada , Chloé , Roberto Cavalli , Davidoff , Dolce & Gabbana , Gucci , Calvin Klein , Cartier , Christian Louboutin , La Perla , Jimmy Choo , Jacadi, Mulberry, Victoria's Secret , Barneys New York , Coach , Rolex , Giorgio Armani , Oliver Peoples , Vera Wang , Anne Fontaine , Baccarat, Carolina Herrera , Ralph Lauren and others. Madison Avenue

5880-514: 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. The museum was temporarily closed from March to September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and the renovation was delayed as a result. The garden opened to the public in June 2022. The renovation had cost $ 13 million in total. The Morgan Library & Museum celebrated its 100th anniversary as

5978-460: The history of each item. 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. Greene tended to acquire items created before the 16th century, since Morgan believed that other libraries were able to adequately care for newer items. Morgan also decided to import the rest of his collection and display it at his library. To avoid paying import taxes, he

SECTION 60

#1732765163425

6076-537: The homes. 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. The houses were separated from each other by gardens. The surrounding neighborhood of Murray Hill was not yet developed at the time, but began to grow after the American Civil War . Isaac Newton Phelps's daughter Helen married Anson Phelps Stokes in 1865. Their son,

6174-410: The house due to an 18-foot-wide (5.5 m) driveway east of it. While part of Morgan's collection was stored in the basement of his house, other items were loaned to institutions or placed in storage. 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. That January, he bought

6272-453: The house's exterior. J. P. Morgan came to own two-thirds of the city block; his holdings by 1907 included the whole 197.5-foot (60.2 m) frontage on Madison Avenue, stretching 300 feet (91 m) on 36th Street and 167 feet (51 m) on 37th Street. Morgan first hired Warren and Wetmore to design a Baroque-style library, which would have had a heavily decorated upper section. Whitney Warren of Warren and Wetmore had then just completed

6370-413: The house, and it also announced that it would raise $ 40 million for a capital campaign. The original buildings could display only one percent of the total collection at once, and the entire exhibition space consisted of two rooms and a corridor. In 1989, the firm of Voorsanger and Mills designed a glass conservatory connecting 231 Madison Avenue and the main building's annex. The conservatory would expand

6468-573: The library building, and the land under 219 Madison Avenue, to the Morgan Library. Greene was retained as the librarian. The Morgan Library was not a public library and initially only allowed researchers into the space; as Jack Morgan said, "one soiled thumb could undo the work of 900 years". Only ten scholars could initially enter the building at once. 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. To accommodate additional scholars,

6566-419: The library had pay-what-you-wish admission fees. At the time, the library still had a reputation for being a rich enclave, and many board members were part of rich families. The library's acquisitions in the 1990s included part of Alice Tully 's art collection, Carter Burden 's collection of over 30,000 American literary volumes, and Pierre Matisse 's collection of 2,000 letters from artists. The Morgan opened

6664-462: 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. By that November, the library had raised $ 550,000. In 1960, the main library and its annex were connected by a cloister structure. During the renovation, the operating hours of the east room and west room were expanded from three to six days a week. The renovation, designed by J. P. Morgan's nephew Alexander P. Morgan,

6762-537: The library to the general public, and city officials agreed not to fight the library's tax-exempt status. 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. The Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library was formed in 1949 to raise funds for

6860-566: The library's space to 45,000 square feet (4,200 m), 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. An early plan called for converting 231 Madison Avenue to exhibition galleries, but the house's internal structure made this impossible, so 231 Madison Avenue became offices and

6958-422: The library's study, and he often opted to work in the library rather than in his downtown office. 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. The Wall Street Journal wrote in 1911 that "Mr. Morgan buys books as some financiers buy a thousand shares of stock"; in some years, he spent half his income on

7056-462: The mansion of Darius Ogden Mills, on the site of part of Rockefeller Center now occupied by the colossal bronze Atlas. Their bills came to US$ 450,000. At the same time they were furnishing the nearby Jay Gould residence at 579 Fifth Avenue, at Forty-seventh Street. The White House's interiors were extensively renovated during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt . Executing the designs of architect Charles Follen McKim , Herter Brothers created

7154-511: The marble facade, replacing electrical systems and lighting, and opening the North Room to the public. Beyer Blinder Belle designed the restoration, which was completed in October 2010. Alongside the main building's renovation, Griswold wanted to digitize the collection. The Morgan established a photography department in 2012. Griswold resigned as the Morgan's director in 2014, and Colin Bailey

7252-426: The most perfect structure that human hands could erect and was willing to pay whatever it cost". 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. McKim had suggested the dry masonry blocks to Morgan, who readily agreed to pay the extra cost. To fit New York City's climate, tinfoil sheeting

7350-433: 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. 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

7448-532: The overseas collection rather than importing it, but he decided to keep the items that were already in his father's library. During 1914, the collection was displayed in full at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the only time the whole collection was displayed. The import duty exemption expired in April 1915, and Jack sold various items in the collection to pay the inheritance taxes and to raise money for

7546-504: The plan reduced the size of the central mass and added a recessed entrance. Morgan also rejected a proposal for a Greek temple–like structure topped by a portico . The final designs called for the central section and wings to be the same distance from the street. Morgan insisted the library be made of marble, even though his whole family except for his daughter Louisa lived in a brownstone house. Morgan originally planned to use white marble, but he used pinkish-gray Tennessee marble instead after

7644-606: The plaster ceiling and ornately carved oak paneling for the expanded State Dining Room . The firm's workshops also provided the heavily carved paneling for the renovated East Room . Very few Herter Brothers interiors remain extant. "Elm Park" in Norwalk, Connecticut was built 1864–68, and partially decorated by Herter Brothers. Open to the public as the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum , the drawing room, music room and rotunda/art gallery are examples of

7742-424: 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. To allow people to see his new library from Madison Avenue, Morgan demolished the Dodge house in 1907–1908 and replaced it with a garden designed by Beatrix Farrand . As the librarian, Greene was tasked with expanding the collection, as well as cataloging and researching

7840-407: The public. Following the renovation, the number of annual visitors increased to 223,000, but this number had declined to 150,000 by 2010. The museum also hosted concerts in its new auditorium, and it hired Restaurant Associates to operate a cafe there. Pierce retired as the museum's director in early 2007, saying that some museum members had opposed changes made during his tenure. William M. Griswold

7938-430: The renovation, Pierce planned to rebrand the institution as a museum. The Morgan also continued to acquire objects during the renovation, such as the collection of the lyricist Fred Ebb . The project cost $ 106 million in total; the renovation did not include the main building. The library reopened on April 29, 2006, and was renamed the Morgan Library & Museum. J. P. Morgan's private office and vault were also opened to

8036-590: The sixth to sixteenth centuries. As early as 1923, the Morgan Library counted 560 illuminated manuscripts in its collection, a number that had grown to over 1,100 by the 21st century. Among the manuscripts are the Morgan Bible , Morgan Beatus , Hours of Catherine of Cleves , Farnese Hours , Morgan Black Hours , and Codex Glazier , as well as an Anglo-Saxon Gospels manuscript. The manuscript collection also contains authors' original manuscripts, many of them autographed. The library's early acquisitions included

8134-580: 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. Three houses were built along Madison Avenue on lots measuring 65 feet (20 m) wide by 157 feet (48 m) deep, while a fourth house to the east measured 18 feet (5.5 m) wide and stretched 197.5 feet (60.2 m) between 37th and 36th Streets. All the houses were designed in an Italianate style with pink brownstone. A driveway and stables were located behind

8232-415: 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. While McKim was responsible for the overall design, Morgan had final say over the aspects of the plan. An initial proposal called for a projecting central mass flanked by recessed wings, which Morgan deemed unwieldy. The second version of

8330-426: The time, the museum recorded about 200,000 annual visitors but wanted to accommodate twice that number. The library sponsored numerous traveling exhibitions around the country. All of the post-1928 annexes were demolished. Workers built most of the new spaces underground, excavating nearly 50,000 short tons (45,000 long tons; 45,000 t) of bedrock. The entrance was also relocated to Madison Avenue. In conjunction with

8428-523: The years. In the late 19th century, Morgan became one of the most influential financiers in the United States. 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

8526-676: Was Beethoven's Violin Sonata in G major , Opus 96, which he acquired in 1907. Notable specific pieces include two sets of Schubert's Impromptus manuscripts; Andrea Antico 's Motetti e Canzone , and Mozart's Haffner Symphony . The collection also contains the scraps of paper on which Bob Dylan jotted down " Blowin' in the Wind " and " It Ain't Me Babe ". There are several pieces of Victorian-era musical artifacts, such as Gilbert and Sullivan manuscripts and related artifacts. In 2024, museum staff discovered an unpublished waltz by Chopin, dating from

8624-499: Was appointed as the director of the Morgan Library & Museum the next year. The Morgan Library & Museum announced in February 2019 that it would renovate the main building's facade. Integrated Conservation Resources restored the main building. After the facade's restoration was completed later that year, the landscape designer Todd Longstaffe-Gowan designed a garden surrounding the original building. The LPC had initially opposed

8722-458: Was being redeveloped as a business street. Although Jane Morgan died in 1925, Jack continued to live at 231 Madison Avenue until his death in 1943, and the Satterlee home remained in the Morgan family until 1944. The United Lutheran Church in America bought 231 Madison Avenue for its headquarters in 1943 and built a five-story annex there in 1957. It was the only remaining brownstone house along

8820-638: Was changed to one-way downtown (southbound). This changeover was accelerated by seven weeks due to the transit strike which began on January 1. Between East 135th Street and East 142nd Street, Madison Avenue carries southbound traffic only and runs parallel to the Harlem River Drive . There are numerous structures designated as New York City Landmarks (NYCL), National Historic Landmarks (NHL), and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on Madison Avenue. From south to north (in increasing address order), they include: The term "Madison Avenue"

8918-438: Was completed in 1962 and included office space, a gallery, and meeting space. In total, the renovation cost $ 1.4 million. By the early 1960s, the library was open six days a week (five days during the summer), and it charged no admission fee. Access to parts of the collection was limited to authorized researchers. Adams retired as the Morgan's director in 1969 and was succeeded by Charles Ryskamp . During Ryskamp's 17-year tenure,

9016-510: Was hired as the museum's next director that April, overseeing the growth of its collections, exhibition programs, and curatorial departments. By the late 2000s, there was still not enough space for the museum's permanent collection. The museum began planning to restore the main building c.  2008 . In May 2010, Griswold announced that the main building would be renovated, and the museum started providing audio guides about its collections. The renovation cost $ 4.5 million and included cleaning

9114-468: Was made of limestone, as contrasted with the brownstones on Madison Avenue, and was connected to Morgan's own home by tunnels. The Satterlee residence measured 28 feet (8.5 m) wide, and Morgan used the 135-foot-wide (41 m) plot between his house and the Satterlees' home for his new library. Morgan acquired William E. Dodge's home in April 1903. While the Satterlee house was under construction,

9212-404: Was more representative of the work of William M. Kendall from McKim, Mead & White. 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. Around the same time, Morgan hired Belle da Costa Greene as his personal librarian. Toward the library's completion, Morgan reportedly requested that

9310-429: Was placed between the blocks. In addition, the stonework contractor nearly went out of business because the builders would not use any stones with cracks. Morgan was impressed with the quality of the work and often upheld the library as an accomplishment of McKim's. This was because McKim was not only responsible for selecting the marble from Rome but also for hiring the library's decorators and craftsmen. The final design

9408-456: 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 ,

9506-542: Was replaced the next year by Charles Eliot Pierce Jr. 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. In 1988, the Morgan Library bought 231 Madison Avenue from the Lutheran Church for $ 15 million. The library planned to spend $ 5 million restoring

9604-453: Was required to open the library to the public on certain days of the week. Morgan sometimes acquired art on short notice; in one case, he bought a Vermeer painting minutes after learning about the artist. He also refused to buy works that he believed were too expensive, and, although Morgan sometimes bought whole collections, in other instances he acquired a small number of pieces from a collection. Morgan frequently met with foreign bankers in

#424575