BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED ROOMS OF THE NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK WILL PROVIDE INCREASED EXHIBITION SPACE FOR THE DISPLAY OF MASTERPIECES FROM THE MORGAN’S COLLECTIONS

McKim Building Closes June 1, 2010
Reopens to the Public on October 30, 2010

Beginning in June 2010, The Morgan Library & Museum’s iconic McKim building will undergo the most extensive restoration of its interior spaces since its construction more than one hundred years ago. Providing new and expanded exhibition space for the institution, the project will enable the Morgan to share more treasures from its world-renowned permanent collection with the public. The building, designed by the firm of McKim, Mead, and White, was once the private study and library of financier Pierpont Morgan. It is considered one of New York’s great architectural treasures and its interiors are regarded as some of the most beautiful in America. The building will reopen to the public on Saturday, October 30.  All other areas of The Morgan Library & Museum will remain fully operational during the course of the project.

Following the Morgan’s successful 2006 expansion by Pritzker Prizewinning architect Renzo Piano—the largest in the institution’s history—the $4.5 million refurbishment of the 1906 McKim building’s majestic interiors will restore and refresh the historic center of the institution. The project encompasses all of the McKim’s rooms and exhibition spaces. Key components include new lighting throughout the building to better illuminate its extraordinary murals and décor; the opening of the North Room to visitors for the first time; installation of new exhibition cases to house rotating displays of masterpieces from the Morgan’s collections; restoration of period furniture and fixtures; and cleaning of the walls and applied ornamentation.