Robinson McClellan, Assistant Curator of Music Manuscripts and Printed Music
After acquiring Jack Morgan’s brownstone in 1988, the Morgan refurbished the interior which had suffered from decades of neglect. Preserved on the ground floor are the former music rooms, clad in wood paneling with carved and gilt decorations depicting musical instruments. One room is now part of the Morgan Shop.
The restaurant was once the dining room used by Jack and Jane Morgan and their family. The architectural details are mostly original, and the portraits on the walls show members of the Morgan family. On the left side is Joseph Morgan, Pierpont Morgan’s grandfather and Jack’s great-grandfather. Joseph’s wife, Sarah, faces him from the opposite wall. Over the marble fireplace hangs a portrait of Pierpont Morgan as a child, with his sister Sarah Spencer Morgan.
The rest of the Morgan House is mainly museum offices, and the top floor is home to the Thaw Conservation Center, a world-class laboratory for the study and treatment of works on paper and parchment.