A Review of the Morgan Library & Museum

The Morgan Library & Museum is a great, small museum in Midtown Manhattan with a collection of small treasures. Its was established by the famous industrialist and collector Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), who collected rare books, manuscripts, works on paper, and small antiquities throughout his life. In 1902, he hired the celebrated architect Charles McKim to built him a gorgeous, beaux-arts library to house it all. After Morgan’s death, his son made it a public museum. I believe that the collection is still growing. The museum got a large expansion in 2006 by architect Renzo Piano. Now, the museum is part modern exhibition galleries and part Gilded Age library. You can learn more about the history of the Morgan and its architecture on the museum’s website.

Details

The Morgan Library is open every day of the week except Monday (but there are some hours that you can only get into the historic portion). Admission costs $20 for adults, $13 for students and seniors, free ages 12 and under with an adult. The museum has a well-stocked bookstore, café, and dining room.

What I Liked About It

• The Morgan has cool treasures that you might not pay much attention to elsewhere. Because they’re small, they would get lost in many other museums, but they’re rightfully given places of prominence here.
• Manuscripts! I love illuminated manuscripts, and the Morgan has a ton of them.
• It also has a excellent collection of ancient Mesopotamian cylinder seals. These are small pieces of hard stone carved  in reverse, so they create patterns when rolled over soft clay. They were used like signatures in the ancient world. Each seal at the Morgan appears next to a photo of the impression they create in the clay. Other small antiquities, including ancient jewelry, appeared in the same gallery. I’m not sure if this is a permanent display or not.
• The museum has a fabulous collection of medieval treasure bindings particularly loved by Pierpont Morgan. Treasure bindings are elaborate gold and jewel-encrusted book bindings. The ninth-century Lindau Gospels is one of the most famous examples in the world… and I got to see it up close here! In addition to the vast amount of bling on this covers, the delicate metalwork is spectacular. Unfortunately, this exhibition will probably have closed by the time I post this.
• Other special exhibitions on view during my visit showed a collection of master drawings and documents relating to Charles Dickens and his speaking tours.
• The museum preserves Morgan’s original, Charles McKim-designed library. You can walk through Morgan’s study, the book vault, the original library, the librarian’s office, and the rotunda. These are spectacular! I could spend hours inside the original library. I also particularly loved the book vault and the frescoed ceiling of the rotunda. These period rooms were absolutely the highlight of my visit. The only thing that disappointed me was the fact that the merging of old and new structures takes away much of the sense that you’re in a real historic building, not just transplanted period rooms.

Pierpont Morgan’s study, with his portrait above the fireplace.

In the original library looking back into the rotunda.

A huge medieval tapestry hangs above the fireplace inside the original library. This photo doesn’t really give a sense of how large both the tapestry and the fireplace are.

A wider view of the original library. You can see part of the cool, spiral stairs on the right side.

This Italian Renaissance-style ceiling fresco was one of my favorite architectural details in the museum. It is in a hallway connecting exhibition galleries.

This is the entrance door to what I believe is the original library. It’s difficult to tell what is where from the outside.

Things to Keep in Mind if You Go

The Morgan requires patience. It mostly displays small works, which you need to look very closely at to appreciate. The museum has very few obvious show-stoppers or big-name pieces. That’s not to say that its collection isn’t world class, because it absolutely is. I mean that its significance isn’t always immediately apparent. Books, drawings, and tiny antiquities don’t give up their best features to brief glances. The museum is relatively small, but plan to spend a few hours so you really have time to look at everything. I would also advise you to pay as much attention to your surroundings in the period rooms as you do to the objects on display there. You won’t regret it!

The Morgan Library & Museum is a good choice for intermediate to advanced museum-goers. However, don’t let that discourage you if you’re a beginner and want to visit! Just remember to take your time, have the patience to really look at things, and read the excellent labels for context.

Learn to Enjoy Art More