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Join us for a lecture from the fabulous Baila Miller about the real life figures behind our 2023 One Book One Community pick: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray!
John Pierpont Morgan and Belle da Costa Greene were significant personalities during The Gilded Age (1870-1900). They understood that economically, the United States was growing by leaps and bounds, however, culturally our nation was perceived as a backwater lacking in significance. Morgan made it his mission to elevate the status of America on the world’s stage.
As such, he hired the remarkable Belle da Costa Greene to manage, curate, and purchase rare drawings, documents, books, and manuscripts for his Pierpont Morgan Library. She became known as one of the most powerful people in the art and book world. Her impeccable taste, intellect, and shrewd negotiating skills culminated in a world-class collection that set the stage for America as a future Art & Culture capital.