The Book of Ruth: Medieval to Modern
February 14 through October 4, 2020
Press Preview: February 20, 2020, at 4:30 PM

The Morgan Library & Museum is pleased to present The Book of Ruth: Medieval to Modern, opening February 14 and running through June 14, 2020. The exhibition celebrates the gift made in 2018 by Joanna S. Rose of    The Joanna S. Rose Illuminated Book of Ruth to the Morgan. The accordion-fold vellum manuscript, measuring nine inches tall and an astonishing eighteen feet long, was designed and illuminated by New York artist Barbara Wolff, who worked on the project for two years (2015–17). The Rose Book of Ruth is presented in conversation with twelve manuscripts, drawn from the Morgan’s holdings, that unfold the Christian traditions for illustrating the story of Ruth during the Middle Ages. Through the juxtaposition of the modern manuscript with these ancient works, which date from the twelfth to the fifteenth century and include three leaves from the Morgan’s famed Crusader Bible, the exhibition brings into focus the techniques of medieval illuminators that inspired Wolff, as well as her inventive approach to iconography.