Join curators of the Morgan Library & Museum’s exhibition, Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy (on view October 25, 2024 through May 4, 2025), to explore Belle da Costa Greene’s life and legacy through a three-session online course.
Belle da Costa Greene is known as the Morgan’s first Director, and for the instrumental role she played in building the exceptional collection of rare books and manuscripts formed by American financier J. Pierpont Morgan, who hired her as his personal librarian in 1905. Widely recognized as an authority on illuminated manuscripts, Greene was one of the most prominent librarians in American history. After Morgan’s death in 1913, Greene continued as the librarian of his son and heir, J.P. Morgan Jr., who would transform his father’s Library into a public institution in 1924.
Explore exhibition objects with the Morgan’s curators to learn more about Greene’s career as director of what was then known as the Pierpont Morgan Library―a leadership role she held for twenty-four years―as well as aspects of her early life, private collecting, and rich social and professional networks.
Session 1: Join curator Philip Palmer for an overview of the exhibition and a deeper dive into Greene's life and career at the Morgan.
Session 2: Join curator Erica Ciallela for a discussion on Belle Greene and racial passing in America.
Session 3: Curators Philp Palmer and Erica Ciallela delve into Belle Greene's letters with a focus on her decades-long correspondence with Bernard Berenson.
This is an online course.
Please e-mail public_programs@themorgan.org with questions about accessibility.
Paul Helleu (1859-1927), Belle da Costa Greene, 1913. Black, white, and red chalk on paper. The Morgan Library & Museum; 1950.12. Bequest of Belle da Costa Greene, 1950.