J. P. Morgan and Belle da Costa Greene Broke Gilded Age Glass Ceilings

 

J.P. Morgan was born on this day in 1837. His architectural signature in New York is a handsome ornament of the Gilded Age.

Magnificent in detail, the gold-trimmed Library & Museum on Madison Ave isn’t J.P.’s greatest legacy.  Let’s be bold as brass and say, as time evolves, the Morgan family’s greatest legacy was to break a vintage glass ceiling by supporting a woman.

Belle da Costa Greene was brilliant, business savvy, and black. Even for a world-class financier that equation must have been a tough-sell. In those days gender and racial bias’ were the norm.

But, Belle wasn’t an ordinary woman, she had the sophistication of a debutante, eye of a consummate curator and the style of a fashionista. Trained as an archivist at Princeton University, she was a scholar of rare things.  She also managed to manage prejudice.  To their credit, J.P. Morgan and his son J.P. Jr. cared more about the pedigree of their collection than predilections of the time.

Belle’s work-ethic, eagerness to haggle over price and sense of humor spoke volumes about the fusion of the financier’s vision and her values. The power of the unlikely business-buddies shaped “The Morgan”. The legacy of the partnership created a time-capsule of our culture. More than a museum, The Morgan is a civic social-light.

J.P. Morgan’s wealth shaped American history. His quest for the best of everything refined American culture. That quest increasingly and unquestionably rested on the shoulders of Belle de Costa Greene.

The exhibit on Belle’s life is broad in scope,it’s thesis includes light and shadow.  This presentation of priceless art and books is also a trove of intimate momentos. Artifacts reveal how Morgan’s money and Belle’s taste inspire a story-book tapestry of success’ and secrets. The globally sourced collection translates cultures influenced by a fully-spirited woman well ahead of her times.

Much of Belle da Costa Greene’s life is chronicled in the jewel colored galleries she loved. Pictures, notes and crushed rose petals footnote experiences few women could have known.

But, the masterful curator chose to veil significant aspects of her identity for eternity. The archives she venerated omit the relationship she had with her father, Harvard College’s first black graduate who continued his education at the Law School. Also missing from her memoirs are the how’s and why’s of choosing to “pass” as white. Although her romantic relationship with legendary art connoisseur Bernard Beronson is obvious Belle erased the emotional reason d’être of their time together.

Had she not destroyed so much of her life story our understanding of this feisty, flirty, and fascinating woman, who earned her position as the Library’s first Director, would fill another rare volume of Morgan’s legend.

What’s left for us to know of Belle da Costa Greene is structural. A copious cataloguer, the Morgan collection is a pristine document of the sum of their combined gifts. We’re inspired to read between the lines of Belle’s emotional courage when she was challenged.

The Morgan landmarks an auspiciously bold chapter in American history. Shattering Gilded conventions Morgan and da Costa Greene are Gilded beacons for anyone who aspires to reach beyond societal customs to create a brighter legacy of their own design.

Celebrate the vision of the financier and the fashionista Now- May 4, 2025

 

+ Headline image : “The whole value of the portrait really lies in the coloring which is quite wonderful -the veil which i have around me is a most wonderful glowing saffron with highlights of sunset colors in it & the background is a dull gold- It is not the Belle that you know but you will know her some day & you will like her.- It is the Belle of one of my former incarnations ” Egyptienne” .