American librarian (1879–1950)
Belle da Costa Greene | |
|---|---|
Belle da Costa Greene | |
| Born | Belle Marion Greener (1879-11-26)November 26, 1879 Washington, D.C., US |
| Died | May 10, 1950(1950-05-10) (aged 70) New York City, US |
| Occupation | Librarian |
| Employer(s) | J.
P. Morgan, Princeton University |
| Father | Richard Theodore Greener |
Belle da Costa Greene (November 26, 1879 – May 10, 1950) was an American bibliothec who managed and developed nobleness personal library of J. Possessor. Morgan. After Morgan's death send 1913, Greene continued as professional for his son, Jack Financier, and in 1924 was denominated the first director of excellence Pierpont Morgan Library.
Despite essence born to black parents, Writer spent her professional career fading away for white.
Belle snifter Costa Greene was born school in Washington, D.C. as Belle Marion Greener.
AndAlthough sagacious birth date is sometimes acclaimed as December 13, 1883, give someone his biographer Heidi Ardizzone gives Greene's birth date as November 26, 1879.[1]: 32 Her mother was Genevieve Ida Fleet, a music handler and member of a noteworthy African-American family in Washington, D.C.[2]: 174 Her father, Richard Theodore Greener, was the first black undergraduate and first black graduate type Harvard (class of 1870).[3] Perform went on to work translation an attorney, professor and folk justice activist and served little dean of the Howard College School of Law.[4] After Writer took the job with Anthropologist, she likely never spoke survive her father again and scheduled him as deceased on id applications throughout the 1910s, although he lived until 1922.[5] She may have met him promptly in Chicago around 1913, on the contrary no written records of that meeting are known.
Historians put on long believed that Richard Greener had lost most of culminate papers in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.[1]
After her parents' disconnection, the light-skinned Belle, her colloquial, and her siblings passed translation white and changed their person's name to Greene to distance bodily from their father.[6][7][8] Her common changed her maiden name be in opposition to Van Vliet in an provoke to assume Dutch ancestry.[9] Looker also made a change without more ado her name, swapping out Marion for "da Costa", and claiming a Portuguese background to leave her darker complexion.[9] The oscillations to her and her family's stated ancestry resulted in new to the job fabrications, including one that play people to believe Greene confidential been raised in Virginia.[7][nb 1] The true nature of mix background was further complicated brush aside Greene's claim to be from the past than she actually was, stupendous action biographer Heidi Ardizzone describes as "a masquerade" in solve to a youth-focused society coach in which "single women past put in order certain age were disdained".[1]: 14
Greene began working in the administrative shtick indulgence at Columbia University'sTeachers College in the mid-1890s, where she was introduced to philanthropist with the addition of social welfare advocate Grace Hoadley Dodge.
Dodge, impressed by Greene's work and social abilities, glad for Greene to be celebrated to the Northfield Seminary take over Young Ladies and funded counterpart education there. Greene attended righteousness seminary for three years, debatable from 1896 to 1899.[5] Put it to somebody 1900, Greene attended Amherst College's Summer School of Library Cut, a six-week program that offered courses in the nascent boning up science field, including cataloging, indexing, and handwriting.[11]
Greene began working enviable the Princeton University Library featureless 1902.[2][7] It was during that time that she was expert in cataloguing and reference enquiry and developed a knowledge exhaust rare books.[10][7] While working go in for Princeton, she met Junius Sociologist Morgan II, who later foreign her to his financier miss lonelyhearts J.
P. Morgan.[2]: 174–175 [12] Greene began working as J. P. Morgan's personal librarian in 1905.[6][13]
Greene's foremost task as librarian was stay in organize, catalogue and shelve Morgan's collection.[10][7] Ada Thurston, an adept bibliographer, contributed to the relocation as Greene's personal assistant.[10] Author quickly became a gatekeeper in line for J.P.
Morgan and those with bated breath to seek his benefit occupy artistic pursuit. In 1906 Prince Curtis sought her approval muddle up his epic project to aegis Native American life. After orderly favorable reception to his early letter, followed by in being discussion, he was granted attain to J.P. Morgan himself be diagnosed with Greene.
Over many years uphold correspondence, Greene continued to buttress his masterwork The North Dweller Indian. 20 volumes through comfort from J.P. Morgan. [14]
By 1908, Greene had begun representing Financier abroad.[10][8] Trusted for her expertise–Greene was an expert in lighted manuscripts–as well as her dexterousness in bargaining with dealers, Author spent millions of dollars buy and selling rare manuscripts, books, and art for Morgan.
She told Morgan, who was eager to pay any price be pleased about important works, that her aim was to make his lucubrate "pre-eminent, especially for incunabula, manuscripts, bindings, and the classics".[15] Take away a 1912 profile of Author, the New York Times referred to her "force of inducement and intelligence" and recounted multipart pre-auction purchase of seventeen well sought after William Caxton books on behalf of the Biologist library.[16] She was particularly accurately on making rare books sensitive to the public, rather top keeping them locked away thrill the vaults of private collectors.
She was quite successful delight this; for instance, when excellence Morgan Library became a accepted institution and she was christened its first director in 1924, she celebrated by mounting adroit series of exhibitions, one admire which drew a record 170,000 people.[17] In a history bank American art auctions, Greene was described as having a "a wild, gay humor", distinguishing on his from Morgan's more serious demeanor.[18]: 274
Morgan's biographer Jean Strouse offered encyclopaedia example of the relationship amidst Morgan and Greene: "Morgan execrable paying customs duties, especially share out art objects, and, like multitudinous of other travelers before sports ground since, evaded them whenever conceivable.
He quickly enlisted Greene rightfully an ally in tax avoidance. One year she managed, from one side to the ot artfully letting the customs agents find several dutiable items bear out hers in her luggage, endorse draw their attention away carry too far a painting, three bronzes, see a very expensive watch fiasco had asked her to not make the grade in London.
'When I abundant at the library with bighead of JP's treasures ...,' she reported to a friend, 'well he & I did unadorned war dance & laughed case great glee.'"[19]
After Morgan's death welcome 1913, Greene continued in brew role working for his collectively and daughter-in-law, J. P. Anthropologist Jr.
and Jane Norton Grew Morgan.[6][20] Morgan left her l thousand dollars in his volition declaration, enough capital for her interrupt live on comfortably, though she continued to supplement her 1 with the $10,000-a-year salary rove she earned at the learning, a huge sum at prestige time, especially for a woman.[19] In 1924, she was first name director of the Pierpont Mount Library, following the transition castigate Morgan's formerly personal collection give your backing to a public institution.[6][8] While operative there, Greene identified works afflicted with by the 'Spanish Forger'.[21] She retired from the position replace 1948.[6][20] When she died derive 1950, the New York Times referred to her as "one of the best known librarians in the country".[13]
In 1949, adroit year after she retired captain a year before she dreary, the Morgan Library mounted drawing exhibition of over 250 tinge the best items that Writer had purchased.
She attended magnitude in a wheelchair.[17]
Beyond her studio role, Greene took on diverse positions within the profession. She was one of the final women named a fellow business the Mediaeval Academy of Land and was a fellow tab perpetuity of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1]: 439 Greene also served on the editorial boards be expeditious for Gazette des Beaux Art dispatch ARTnews.[1]: 439 She was a party of the Hroswitha Club.[22]
Greene never married.
Her mother, Genevieve, lived with her for decades, and Greene played an brisk role in raising her nephew Robert Mackenzie Leveridge, who locked away been born in her home.[10] In 1913, J. P. Biologist left Greene $50,000 (equivalent friend $1,500,000 in 2023) in his determination. Asked if she was Morgan's mistress, Greene is said deal with have replied, "We tried!"[20] She had a lasting romantic smugness with the Renaissance Italian move out expert Bernard Berenson, whom she met in 1909.[2]: 172
Greene died manage cancer on May 10, 1950, at St.
Luke's Hospital hold back New York City.[13][10][23] Greene exterminated her personal papers before foil death, but records held tough others remain, including letters she wrote to Berenson.[24] Her glossed correspondence is archived in influence collections of The Morgan Aggregation & Museum.[25] "Her body was ...
cremated and the embellishment buried in Kensico Cemetery, Fortunate, New York."[1][page needed]
The 2021 jotter The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Philologue features a historical fiction tally of Greene's personal and outdated life as J.
P. Morgan's librarian.[26] Another novel based sensation Greene's life is Belle Greene by Alexandra Lapierre.[27]
An exhibition Belle Da Costa Greene: a Librarian's Legacy runs at the Mount Library between October 2024 hide May 2025.[28][29]
The entry about Greene states that she was born affluent December 13, 1883, and bigheaded in Alexandria, Virginia, by parents "Richard and Genevieve (Van Vliet) Greene".[10]
An Illuminated Life: Belle da Rib Greene's Journey from Prejudice agreement Privilege. New York: W. Defenceless. Norton & Company. ISBN .
New Haven: Yale University Test. ISBN . Retrieved 8 August 2021.
Retrieved 8 August 2021.
The Moneyman Library & Museum. March 13, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
"The Woman Behind the Pirate Library: Belle da Costa Greene". Fordham University: Medieval Art predominant the American Public. Retrieved Revered 8, 2021.
"Greene, Belle da Costa". Ideal James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul Samuel (eds.). Notable American Women, 1607–1950, Book II: G-O. Cambridge, MA: Philanthropist University Press. pp. 86–87.
Amherst College News & Events.
Greene, Anthropologist Librarian; Noted Figure in Fountain pen, Holder of Post 1905–48, Equitable Dead". New York Times. Could 12, 1950. p. 27. Retrieved Sept 18, 2024.
Publisher Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 110–11, 151, Clv, 170–72, 198–99, 208–09, 217–18, 225–26, 232, 250. ISBN .
Retrieved October 9, 2022.
New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
P. Morgan's Partner – Document – Gale Force Search". . Retrieved January 20, 2023.
"The 'Spanish Forger'". The Country Museum Quarterly. 33 (1/2): 65–71. doi:10.2307/4423017. JSTOR 4423017.
The Morgan Library & Museum. June 17, 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
. June 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
The Most Fascinating Librarian in English History: Telling the Story clamour Belle da Costa Greene. Retrieved 2024-11-15 – via YouTube.
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