2004-2006

Through January 8, 2006

The Metropolitan Museum of Art had on display seven superb examples of medieval art from the Morgan Library. These objects were on view in the Tapestry Hall while the Morgan proceeded with its expansion project. The long-term loans include some of the favorite works of the noted financier and collector Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), a past president of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Image of Stavelot Triptych
October 18, 2004 through January 8, 2006

Comprising fifty-eight examples in manuscript or printed editions, Painted Prayers: Medieval and Renaissance Books of Hours from the Morgan Library examined the tremendous popularity of Books of Hours through an exploration of their customary prayers and the beautiful pictures that traditionally accompany these texts.

Image of Yolande de Soissons in Prayer
September 24 through December 31, 2005

To Observe and Imagine: British Drawings and Watercolors from the Morgan Library, 1600–1900, was a major survey of the Morgan's important collection of British drawings. The basis of this group dates to Pierpont Morgan's well-known 1909 purchase of virtually all the holdings of Charles Fairfax Murray, the English Pre-Raphaelite artist and collector.

Image of William Blake drawing
March 6 through June 6, 2004

The Book of Kings: Art, War, and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible used medieval works from the Morgan and The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, to explore ways in which Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures used storytelling to define themselves and their values. The Picture Bible—one of the greatest illuminated manuscripts produced in thirteenth-century France—was disbound for conservation and study, offering visitors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view twenty-six of the book's pages in a single exhibition.

Image of Morgan Picture Bible page