New Acquisitions at the Morgan
By Emily Hulme
• ‘New at the Morgan: Acquisitions Since 2004’ is at The Morgan Library through Oct. 18.
John Singer Sargent, “Portrait of Paul-César Hélleu,” ca. 1882-85
The Morgan Library closed its doors for three years starting in mid-2003 for extensive renovations. The public exhibition schedule was halted during that time, but the Morgan’s collectors kept at their jobs.
The fruits of their labor are on view now in a small but engaging exhibit, “New at the Morgan: Acquisitions Since 2004.” The works on view range from sketches and paintings to musical scores and concert programs, and span from the 1400s to the last few years. There are pieces on view by Edgar Degas, Diane Arbus, Ted Hughes, Oscar Wilde and Johann Sebastian Bach.
But this is no jumbled blockbuster show. The exhibit is neatly organized by theme: sketches and drafts, nature, politics, etc. And housed in a one-room gallery, “New at the Morgan” feels intimate and special.
The nature of the works on view enhances that feeling. An unpublished manuscript by Ernest Hemingway features a “to-do list” on the back. Arthur Getz’s sketchbook shows off pages where the illustrator worked out potential covers for The New Yorker magazine.
This exhibit also encapsulates what is so valuable about the Morgan. Five years of collecting has yielded a strong group of works across all disciplines, underlining the museum’s wider commitment to scholarship and preservation.
