Belle da Costa Greene

The qualities that enabled Belle da Costa Greene to cross the color line were the same ones that made her a formidable negotiator and collector for J. P. Morgan’s library, which she led for over twenty years. -- Heather O'Donnell * The New York Review of Books * In honor of the institution’s 100th anniversary, the exhibition illustrates its inaugural director’s wondrous and trendsetting life. A range of archival and visual material paint a nuanced and thoughtful image of who Greene was as a 'passing' Black woman and prestigious librarian who assembled a world-renowned collection of rare books, manuscripts, and art. -- Elizabeth Thomas * Hyperallergic * Greene’s history is the tale of a brilliant woman’s self-invention, of challenging the prejudices of the day, and of extraordinary success. -- Karen Wilken * The Financial Times * Greene’s tale is part of the legacy of passing in this country, and it’s alternately heartbreaking, infuriating, and astonishing to walk through a show devoted to a life that was built on repression and erasures. I think this is the first major exhibition I’ve seen that follows a kind of Jamesian trajectory, in which the vagaries of life and art coexist and are subsumed by fiction and its greater resonance. -- Hilton Als * The New Yorker * The Morgan Library & Museum is finally paying homage to the woman who assembled the private collection, amplified its splendour, and, 100 years ago, became the institution’s first director. -- Ariella Budick * The Financial Times * Morgan Library’s exhibit describes how her legacy spans generations and ripples through libraries today. -- Jordan-Marie Smith * NPR: All Things Considered * Librarians typically direct attention toward their collections, but this librarian is fascinating in her own right. -- Ron Charles * The Washington Post: Book World * The show draws on previously untapped archival resources, looks in some unexpected places for historical context, and encompasses a number of new discoveries that crystallize Greene’s formative years as a budding librarian and medievalist alongside fresh details of her personal story. -- Celia McGee * The New York Times * A passionate lover of books, Bella da Costa Greene helped to transform the vast personal library of J. Pierpont Morgan into one of the world’s most treasured research libraries and museums. Yet in her many years of unlocking the wonders of learning through reading as the library’s director, Greene’s own story—and family tree—remained a mystery, tucked away in the hidden history of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow. Now, in this breathtaking volume, Greene’s complicated life and choices are revealed more fully than ever before, and what they tell us about the odyssey of race in America is as astonishing as it is tragic. -- Henry Louis Gates Jr. * Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University * This gorgeously illustrated volume draws on rich new scholarship to illuminate the astonishing story of Belle da Costa Greene. Mysteries will remain, yet the Morgan’s catalogue and centennial exhibition present for the first time a 360-degree view of what Greene herself called ‘a grand life.’ -- Jean Strouse * author of Morgan, American Financier * Belle da Costa Greene was a phenomenal librarian and leader who defied cultural expectations and limitations. Her sense of style, sophistication and elegance fused with scholarship made her a woman for the ages. Her enduring legacy is far-reaching and this is why her celebrated career needs to be amplified and told. -- Carla Hayden * Librarian of Congress *