Description

Essentials about the Morgan Library & Museum in brief

For bookworms, a visit to the Morgan Library & Museum is absolutely recommended. The library on Madison Avenue in the middle of Manhattan has one of the world’s most famous collections of manuscripts, papyri, incunabula, early prints, illustrated books, music autographs and prints.

The works of the Morgan Library & Museum

The Morgan Library contains prints and drawings by such masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough, Dürer, and Picasso. Among the library’s most significant printed works are three early Gutenberg Bibles, manuscripts by Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, Charlotte Brontë, sketches for The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and an extraordinary collection of signed and annotated libretti by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mahler, Mozart, and Verdi.

The history of the Morgan Library & Museum

The library was founded on the private library of the American banker J. P. Morgan, who at the end of the 19th century began to systematically purchase important and valuable manuscripts and books, especially from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as autographs, hand drawings and rare books in particularly precious bindings. For the ever-growing collection, he had his own library built next to his Manhattan home in the style of the Italian Renaissance (it is modeled on the Nymphameum of the Villa Giulia and the Villa Medici in Rome). The library building was completed in 1906. In 1924, Morgan’s son John Pierpont Morgan Jr. opened the library to the public. It continues to serve today as a library, museum, and international research center.

The J. P. Morgan residence was demolished in 1928 and replaced with an exhibition hall and reading room. The building next door was occupied by J. P. Morgan, Jr. until 1943, when it was purchased by the Lutheran Church in America as its headquarters. In 1988, it was acquired by the Morgan Library. From 2000 to 2006, star architect Renzo Piano reworked the entire complex to increase exhibition space and designed a four-story addition. Glass walls connect the old and new museum sections.

Website

themorgan.org

Opening hours

Admission fees

Adults: $20.00

Seniors (Ages 65+): $13.00

Students: $13.00

Children (Ages 12 and under): free

For further information on possible discounts, see the website.

Address

Getting there

By public transport:

Subway line 6: Stop 33 St

Subway lines S, 4, 5, 6 and 7: Stop Grand Central – 42 St

Bus lines BxM10, ERS, X27, X28, X37 and X38: Stop Madison Av/E 37 St

Bus lines BxM6, BxM8 and BxM9: Stop Madison Av/E 36 St

By car:

Nearest parking garage is NYC Parking 220 Madison Garage.