MORGAN LIBRARY NYC

 

29 E. 36th Street on Madison Avenue 
(212) 685-0008

The Morgan Library is one of the lesser-known treasures of New York City. Both a museum and a center for scholarly research, it is an extraordinary complex of buildings occupying half a block. The library’s renowned collection of rare books, manuscripts and drawings focuses primarily on the history, art and literature of Western civilization from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Without a doubt, it is among the world’s greatest treasuries of artistic, literary, musical, and historical works and provides visitors access to some of the Western world’s most significant cultural artifacts.

Collection highlights include: Charles Dickens's manuscript of A Christmas Carol, Henry David Thoreau's journals, and the manuscripts and letters of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, John Steinbeck, and Voltaire. In addition, visitors will find the ninth-century Lindau Gospels, a rare vellum copy of the Guttenberg Bible, the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, Albrecht Durer’s Adam and Eve, drawings from Leonardo da Vinci, Peter Paul Rubens and Hilarie-Germain-Edgar Degas, the autograph manuscript of Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, and several hundred letters from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  

The Morgan Library began as a private library of financier Pierpont Morgan, one of America’s greatest collectors and cultural benefactors. As early as 1890, Morgan had begun a vast collection of artistic and historical works that would rival the great European libraries. Built between 1902 and 1906, Morgan’s library was constructed adjacent to his private home at Madison Avenue and 36th street. 

The library’s design is that of an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo, built to match the grand stature of its holdings. Once called "one of the seven wonders of the Edwardian World", The Morgan Library is considered a crowning achievement of Charles McKim, the famous architect and designer from the firm of McKim, Mead & White.

In 1924, eleven years after the death of Pierpont Morgan, his son J.P Morgan, Jr. (known as Jack) decided the collection was too important to remain a private assemblage. Since then, the library has kept its doors open to the public and has continued to expand its unique collection. 

As the collection grew, so did the need for space. An Annex was soon built on the site of Pierpont Morgan's brownstone. Completed in 1928, the new space included a large entrance foyer, a reading room, and an exhibition hall. The new structure was joined to the original library via a connecting gallery called The Cloister (recently renamed the Dr. Rudolf J. and Lore Heinemann Gallery). The library’s most dramatic addition occurred in 1987 when it doubled in size with the acquisition of Jack Morgan's nearby town house. A garden court was built to connect the house with the Annex and original library. This expansion, completed in 1991, made way for both more exhibitions and a wider array of lectures, concerts, and other educational programs

The Morgan Library has become and continues to be an internationally recognized center for research as well as a vital museum serving a diverse public.