The Morgan Library & Museum (formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library; colloquially the Morgan) is a museum and research library in New York City, New York, United States. 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. , 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, one of which was sold to J. P. Morgan in 1880. After collecting thousands of objects in the late 19th century, Morgan erected the main building between 1902 and 1906, with Belle da Costa Greene serving as its first librarian for more than four decades. 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. Three houses were built along Madison Avenue on lots measuring wide by deep, while a fourth house to the east measured wide and stretched between 37th and 36th Streets. All the houses were designed in an Italianate style with pink brownstone. A driveway and stables were located behind 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, 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 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 collection Morgan had collected handwriting samples as early as the 1850s, and he also acquired pictures and stained glass pieces throughout 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 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 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.

Development of library 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 the house due to an 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.

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. That January, he bought a 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 36th Street with a total frontage of . 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 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 wide, and Morgan used the 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, 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 the house's exterior. J. P. Morgan came to own two-thirds of the city block; his holdings by 1907 included the whole frontage on Madison Avenue, stretching on 36th Street and on 37th Street.

Construction

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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; she remained in charge of the collection for the next four decades. Toward the library's completion, Morgan reportedly requested that the entire library be shortened by one foot.

Private library

Opening and early years