New York’s Morgan Library & Museum will receive two gifts totalling $15m to mark its centennial this year. The longtime museum trustee Katharine J. Rayner has pledged $10m—the museum will name its directorship after her for 25 years in recognition of the gift—and the remaining $5m comes from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation to fund future exhibitions. The announcement was made at the institution’s benefit gala today (4 March).
“The Morgan has evolved into one of New York’s most beloved cultural destinations, and these generous gifts allow us to continue this work, move forward with confidence and bolster our long-term financial health,” Colin B. Bailey, the newly christened Katharine J. Rayner Director of the Morgan, said in a statement.
This is not the first large gift the museum has received for its Centennial Campaign, which seeks to raise $35m for its endowment and $15m to “address critical facilities and technology needs that underpin the Morgan’s ability to increase access to its collections”, according to a press release. Last summer, the Sherman Fairchild Foundation gave the institution $10m, which means that just three months into its birthday year, the Morgan is already at least halfway to its fundraising goal.
The Morgan was founded in 1924 to make public the ornately decorated research library and art collection of the banking tycoon J.P. Morgan. The museum includes a large collection of illuminated manuscripts, prints, drawings, rare books and Old Master paintings. There are a number of special exhibitions and events planned for its centennial throughout the year, including a show dedicated to the institution’s inaugural director, the librarian Belle da Costa Greene.
