Jayne Wrightsman was a supporter of the Morgan for over forty years. This section highlights a few of her gifts to the Morgan, not only the 2019 bequest but also her earlier donations and purchased gifts to the Departments of Drawings and Prints, Literary and Historical Manuscripts, and Printed Books and Bindings. Wrightsman’s donations in the visual arts have ranged from formal compositions, such as the depiction of a caryatid by Charles Le Brun, to informal sketches like those Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin drew in auction catalogues. The Wrightsman bindings provide a thorough record of French luxury binding from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth century and preserve the exceptional work of artisans whose names and identities have been largely unrecorded. The bindings, the works they contain, and other documents from the Wrightsman collection help to form a fuller picture of the ancien régime at its height.
Jayne Wrightsman lived with her collection. Her books were not hidden away in bookcases but on display throughout her Manhattan apartment, intended as objects to be examined and admired as one would a fine sculpture or painting. This furniture installation provides a glimpse of her rarified yet personal environment.
Hand-painted wallpaper courtesy of de Gournay