The Hidden Life of a Renowned Librarian
Title: Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy of Erudition, Elegance, and Empowerment
In celebration of the Morgan Library & Museum’s centennial, a captivating and thoughtfully curated exhibition titled Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy underscores the remarkable life and achievements of one of early 20th-century America’s most compelling cultural figures. Belle da Costa Greene was not only a trailblazing librarian and scholar who built one of the world’s most admired rare book collections—she was also a woman navigating the socio-political complexities of racial identity in a deeply segregated society.
A Complex Legacy Unfolds
Greene’s life story unfolds within the exhibition’s elegant rooms, filled with manuscripts, rare books, artworks, and archival materials that illustrate the duality of her public success and private concealment. Born Belle Marion Greener in 1879 to a prominent Black family—her father Richard T. Greener was Harvard University’s first Black graduate—the future librarian changed her name and racial identity to pass as White, an act that would enable her to ascend professionally in racially discriminatory institutions.
Despite the personal cost, Greene secured unprecedented career opportunities. In 1902, she began working at Princeton University’s library and, by 1905, was recruited by financier J.P. Morgan himself to curate his personal collection of rare books and manuscripts. She later became the first director of the Morgan Library, serving until 1948 and shaping it into a world-class research institution.
New York as a Backdrop
The exhibition opens with a 1910 silent film of urban New York, situating Greene’s story within a period of massive technological and cultural transformation. Streetcars traverse cobblestone streets, and early automobiles share space with horse-drawn carriages. It establishes the city’s era of electrification as the backdrop for Greene’s ascent—and for the evolving infrastructure of America’s literary and artistic institutions.
Personal Artifacts and Family History
The nuanced portrait of Belle da Costa Greene emerges through an assemblage of personal and historical documents that place her within the broader arc of African American history and cultural navigation. Included are census documents and ephemera from her mother Genevieve Van Vliet Greene, connected to Georgetown’s prominent Black community and the abolitionist-led 15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.
Greene’s educational foundation is represented by a 1900 class photograph from Amherst College’s Summer School of Library Economy—a striking example of her early social integration into White academic circles. These early steps laid the groundwork for what would become a deeply influential career in library science.
Artistic Representations and Racial Ambiguity
The contradictions of Greene’s lived experience were often reinforced by contemporaneous artwork. A set of studio portraits by Clarence H. White from 1911 reveals Greene’s racial ambiguity—her olive-toned skin and curled hair beneath fashionable hats. Although beautifully composed, Greene reportedly disliked these photographs because they did not idealize or “whiten” her image and thus threatened her carefully constructed public identity.
On the other hand, artist Paul-César Helleu rendered her in a more stylized, Eurocentric fashion. Despite her ambivalence toward such portrayals, these images became part of the legacy that helped cement Greene’s public perception as a White elite cultural icon.
Building the Morgan: The Soul of the Library
One of Greene’s most monumental accomplishments was in transforming J.P. Morgan’s personal archive into one of the most exquisite public research institutions in the world. Among the many rare and historically rich items she acquired were:
– The only surviving original copy of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur (1485)
– Manuscripts with handwritten annotations by Honoré de Balzac
– A lavishly illuminated Latin gospel book from the 11th century
– Charles Dickens’s original proofs of Our Mutual Friend, complete with his signature and notes
These pieces, carefully selected and acquired during Greene’s tenure, speak volumes not just about her taste and expertise but also about her literary foresight and curatorial authority—then exceedingly rare for a woman, let alone one of African American descent.
Contextualizing Passing
What sets this exhibition apart is its refusal to treat racial passing as a sensational footnote. Rather, it provides a deep, contextual framework for understanding the psychological, cultural, and sociopolitical calculations required for a person of color to pass as White in early 20th-century America.
The gallery includes compelling adjacent narratives, such as Carl Van Vechten’s portrait of author Nella Larsen and a first edition of her novel Passing (1929), which delves into the emotional cost of racial passing. Also featured are films such as Veiled Aristocrats (1932) and Imitation of Life (1934), exploring the theme through cinematic lenses, and Archibald Motley Jr.’s painting “The Octoroon Girl,” capturing the performative dimensions of race and class.
A