Collections Spotlight, Spring 2025

About

Objects on view in J. Pierpont Morgan’s library reflect the past, present, and future of the collections in four curatorial departments, comprising illuminated manuscripts from the medieval and renaissance eras, five hundred years of printed books, literary manuscripts and correspondence, as well as printed music and autograph manuscripts by composers. These selections, which rotate three times a year, provide an opportunity for Morgan curators to spotlight individual items, to consider their historical and aesthetic contexts, and to tell the stories behind these artifacts and their creators. The rotation currently on view features items that complement the exhibition Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian's Legacy. The selection showcases Greene’s acquisitions and demonstrates her intensive research into the collection and wide-ranging intellectual interests. Additional objects relate to literary and theatrical works that address themes reflective of her life, including racial passing. A special highlight is the last known photograph of Greene, taken in the West Room in 1950.