Belle da Costa Greene
Belle da Costa Greene | |
---|---|
Born | Belle Marion Greener November 26, 1879 Washington, D.C., US |
Died | May 10, 1950 New York City, US | (aged 70)
Occupation | Librarian |
Employer(s) | J. P. Morgan, Princeton University |
Parent |
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Belle da Costa Greene (November 26, 1879 – May 10, 1950) was an American librarian who managed and developed the personal library of
Early life
Belle da Costa Greene was born in
After her parents' separation, the light-skinned Belle, her mother, and her siblings passed as white and changed their surname to Greene to distance themselves from their father.[6][7][8] Her mother changed her maiden name to Van Vliet in an effort to assume Dutch ancestry.[9] Belle also made a change to her name, swapping out Marion for "da Costa", and claiming a Portuguese background to explain her darker complexion.[9] The changes to her and her family's stated ancestry resulted in further fabrications, including one that led people to believe Greene had been raised in Virginia.[7][nb 1] The true nature of her background was further complicated by Greene's claiming to be younger than she actually was, an action biographer Heidi Ardizzone referred to as "a masquerade" in response to a youth-focused society in which "single women past a certain age were disdained".[1]: 14
Education
Greene began working in the administrative offices at Columbia University's Teacher College sometime in the mid-1890s, where she was introduced to philanthropist and social welfare advocate Grace Hoadley Dodge. Dodge, impressed by Greene's work and social abilities, procured and funded a spot for Greene at the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies. She attended the seminary for three years, likely from 1896 to 1899.[5] In 1900, Greene attended Amherst College's Summer School of Library Economy, a six-week course that offered courses in the nascent library science field, including on cataloging, indexing, and handwriting.[11]
Career
Greene began working at the Princeton University Library in 1902.[2][7] It was during this time that she was trained in cataloguing and reference work and developed a growing knowledge of rare books.[10][7] She met Junius Spencer Morgan II while working at the Princeton library, who later introduced her to his financier uncle J. P. Morgan.[2]: 174–175 [12] Greene began working as J. P. Morgan's personal librarian in 1905.[6][13]
Greene's first task as librarian was to organize, catalogue and shelve Morgan's collection.
J. P. Morgan's biographer Jean Strouse described an example of the relationship between Morgan and Greene: "Morgan hated paying customs duties, especially on art objects, and, like countless of other travelers before and since, evaded them whenever possible. He quickly enlisted Greene as an ally in tax evasion. One year she managed, by artfully letting the customs agents find several dutiable items of hers in her luggage, to draw their attention away from a painting, three bronzes, and a very expensive watch he had asked her to buy in London. "'When I landed at the library with all of JP's treasures ...,' she reported to a friend, 'well he & I did a war dance & laughed in great glee.'"[18]
After Morgan's death in 1913, Greene continued on in her role working for his son,
In 1949—one year after she retired and the year before she died—the Morgan Library staged an exhibition of over 250 of the best items that Belle had purchased, which she attended while in a wheelchair.[16]
Beyond her library role, Greene took on various positions within the profession. She was one of the first women named as a fellow of the Mediaeval Academy of America and was a fellow in perpetuity with the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1]: 439 Greene also served on the editorial boards of Gazette des Beaux Art and ARTnews.[1]: 439 She was a member of the Hroswitha Club.
Personal life
Greene never married. Her mother, Genevieve, lived with her for decades, and Greene played an active role in raising her nephew Robert Mackenzie Leveridge, who had been born in her home.[10] In 1913, J. P. Morgan left Greene $50,000 (equivalent to $1,500,000 in 2023) in his will. Asked if she was Morgan's mistress, Greene is said to have replied, "We tried!"[19] She had a lasting romantic relationship with the Renaissance Italian art expert Bernard Berenson, whom she met in 1909.[2]: 172
Greene died of cancer on May 10, 1950, at St. Luke's Hospital in
Popular culture
The 2021 book
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0393051049.
- ^ ISBN 9780300149425. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Gibson, Katie (29 April 2016). "Painting unveiled of College's first African-American graduate". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Richard Theodore Greener". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ a b Foner, Daria Rose (March 15, 2021). "New Light on Belle da Costa Greene". The Morgan Library & Museum.
- ^ a b c d e "Belle da Costa Greene, the Morgan's First Librarian and Director". The Morgan Library & Museum. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Kuiper, Kathleen. "Belle da Costa Greene". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Del Vecchio, Olivia. "The Woman Behind the Morgan Library: Belle da Costa Greene". medievalartus.ace.fordham.edu. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ a b Wellesley, Mary (30 June 2015). "Forged Lives". Lapham’s Quarterly. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dorothy Miner; Anne Lyon Haight. "Greene, Belle da Costa". In James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul Samuel (eds.). Notable American Women, 1607-1950, Volume II: G-O. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 86–87.
- ^ Whittemore, Katharine (March 1, 2023). "The Morgan Library Rejoiced When It Saw This Photo from the Amherst Archives". Amherst College News & Events.
- OCLC 470190656.
- ^ a b c "BELLE D. GREENE, MORGAN LIBRARIAN; Noted Figure in Field, Holder of Post 1905-48, Is Dead-- Paid Thousands for Rarities". New York Times. 12 May 1950. p. 27.
- ^ Del Vecchio, Olivia. "The Woman Behind the Morgan Library: Belle de Costa Greene". Medieval Art and the American Public: A Digital Narrative. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ "Spending J.P. Morgan's Money for Rare Books". New York Times. 7 April 1912. p. 8.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ISBN 978-0-8090-4171-8. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "J. P. Morgan's Accomplice - Document - Gale Power Search". go.gale.com. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ^ a b c Scutts, Joanna (17 May 2016). "The Mysterious Woman Behind J.P. Morgan's Library". Time. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "J. P. Morgan's Accomplice - Document - Gale Power Search". go.gale.com. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- JSTOR 4423017.
- ^ "Belle da Costa Greene (1883-1950)
- ^ "The Belle Greene–Bernard Berenson Letters Project". The Morgan Library & Museum. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Greene, Belle da Costa; Morgan, J. P. (1887–1948). "Morgan collections correspondence". Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Ardizzone, Heidi, An Illuminated Life.
- ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray". PublishersWeekly.com. June 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Translated from the French by Tina Kover. New York: Europa Editions, 2022.
Bibliography
- Ardizzone, Heidi. An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene's Journey from Prejudice to Privilege (W. W. Norton, 2007).
Notes
Further reading
- Towner, Wesley; Varble, Stephen (1970). "Bibliomania". The Elegant Auctioneers. New York: Hill & Wang. ISBN 978-0-8090-4171-8.
External links
- "A Look at Belle da Costa Greene". Rare Book Collections @ Princeton (August 3, 2010)
- "Belle da Costa Greene: Additional Resources". The Morgan Library & Museum. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.