Videos

Smarthistory: Moralized Bible

Collection in Focus: Joseph Mallord William Turner

Take a closer look at J.M.W. Turner’s remarkable work The Pass of St. Gotthard, near Faido with Jennifer Tonkovich, Eugene and Clare Thaw Curator of Drawings and Prints, as she shares its unique connections to art criticism.

Collection in Focus: La prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France

Sheelagh Bevan, our Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Printed Books and Bindings, discusses Blaise Cendrars, born Frédéric Louis Sauser, a catalyst in some of the explosive artistic innovations of the early twentieth century.

Collection in Focus: Peter Hujar

Dive deep into the archive of the iconic photographer Peter Hujar with Olivia McCall, our Edith Gowin Curatorial Fellow of Photography.

Collection in Focus: Prayer Book of Anne de Bretagne

The incredible Prayer Book of Anne de Bretagne has a compelling story behind the beautiful craftsmanship. Our Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Roger S. Wieck describes the work in detail.

Collection in Focus: The Morgan Beatus

Take a closer look at this 1000 year old Spanish illumination with Josh O’Driscoll, Assistant Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts as he shares the incredible story.

Collection in Focus: Ouida's "A Dog of Flanders"

Jesse R. Erickson, our Astor Curator and Department Head of Printed Books & Bindings, tells us about a popular Victorian novelist, Maria Louise Ramé, better known as Ouida. We look closely at the Morgan’s first edition of Ouida’s “A Dog of Flanders,” her 1872 novel, which has gained worldwide acclaim as a children's book.

Collection in Focus: Mixed Media Portraits

Joel Smith discusses the ways that various artistic media can overlap and intersect. In this case, we examine photography, drawing, and sculpture.

Collection in Focus: St. Edmund

Take a closer look at this 900 year old English manuscript with Dei Jackson, Assistant Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts as she tells the story of St. Edmund.

Collection in Focus: Action Portraits

Take a closer look at three “action portraits” from the Morgan’s 20th-century photography collection with Joel Smith, the Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography. Listen as Joel shares his insights on these dynamic images!

Collection in Focus: Hendrick Goltzius

Hendrick Goltzius was one of the greatest Dutch printmakers and draftsmen of the sixteenth century. Our Annette and Oscar de la Renta Assistant Curator of Drawings and Prints Austeja Mackelaite describes his work in detail.

Collection in Focus: Codex Mellon

Maria Fredericks, the Sherman Fairchild Head of Conservation in the Morgan's Thaw Conservation Center, shares her insights on conserving the Codex Mellon.

Collection in Focus: Beatrix Potter's Letters

The original ideas for many of Beatrix Potter's stories can be found in the manuscript picture letters she wrote to children of friends and family members.

Collection in Focus: Mahler's Fifth

Robinson McClellan, Assistant Curator of Music Manuscripts and Printed Music provides an introduction to Mahler's Fifth Symphony.

Collection in Focus: Dürer's Adam and Eve

Albrecht Dürer's engraving Adam and Eve is one of the most celebrated of the artist's career. It complements the Morgan's drawing of Adam and Eve by Dürer (I, 257d). Dürer produced the Morgan drawing while trying to resolve the composition, which he then translated into the engraving.

Collection in Focus: Wangechi Mutu and Juan Gris

Isabelle Dervaux, Acquavella Curator of Modern and Contemporary Drawings provides a glimpse into the collection by taking a closer look at two drawings by Juan Gris and Wangechi Mutu.

Collection in Focus: Ravel's Bolero

Maurice Ravel’s Bolero started out as a ballet score commissioned by dancer Ida Rubenstein. Her troupe danced the composition's first performance at the Paris Opera in 1928. It was an instant hit. Our Assistant Curator of Music Manuscripts and Printed Music Robinson McClellan has more on this iconic piece of music.

Collection in Focus: George Condo

Listen to George Condo in conversation with Isabelle Dervaux, Acquavella Curator of Modern & Contemporary Drawings, to learn more about Condo's practice and the drawings in this recent acquisition.

Collection in Focus: Rembrandt

Take a closer look at three touching, humanist drawings by Rembrandt (1606–1669) in the Morgan's collection. John Pierpont Morgan loved Rembrandt. He owned 500 prints by Rembrandt, and in 1909 acquired his first drawings by the artist.

Collection in Focus: Kreisler Recitativo and Scherzo performed by Kelly Hall-Tompkins

Listen to violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins play a piece by Fritz Kreisler from 1911. Fritz Kreisler dedicated this piece to the virtuoso Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe.

Collection in Focus: The Hours of Catherine of Cleves

Listen to Roger S. Wieck, the Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head of Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts share his insights on the Hours of Catherine of Cleves.

Collection in Focus: Jack Whitten

Jack Whitten was one of the most innovative artists to emerge in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, Rachel Federman, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Drawings, takes a look at Whitten's "Dispersal 'A' #2," a work emblematic of the type of experimentation associated with the groundbreaking artist.

Collection in Focus: Sir Isaac Newton's Pocket Memorandum Book

Long before becoming one of the most celebrated figures in the history of science, Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) kept this pocket-sized memorandum book, filling it with notes distilled from his reading.

Collection in Focus: Vincent van Gogh

Did you know that Vincent van Gogh was an inveterate letter writer? In 2007 the Morgan acquired a set of letters by the post-Impressionist artist Van Gogh written to friends. Hear our Director Colin B. Bailey explain why these are some of the most moving and precious objects in our collection.

Collection in Focus: Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag

In this video, Robinson McClellan, Assistant Curator of Music Manuscripts and Printed Music, explains why Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" remains a cut above the rest

Collection in Focus: The Declaration of Independence

One of the most timeless and eloquent of historical documents, the Declaration of Independence stands with the Magna Carta, as a classic charter of freedom. The document is a formal statement by the representatives of the Thirteen Colonies announcing their separation from Great Britain and the birth of the United States of America. The Morgan’s copy is one of just twenty-five recorded copies of the first printing of the Declaration and is considered one of the two or three finest in existence.

Collection in Focus: The Gutenberg Bible

The Morgan is the only institution in the world to possess three copies of the Gutenberg Bible, the first substantial book printed from movable type in the West. John McQuillen, Associate Curator, Printed Books and Bindings, explains how Gutenberg's work revolutionized European literacy and learning.

Collection in Focus: Domenico Tiepolo's "Punchinello" Drawings

With over 300 drawings by Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo, this collection is one of the strengths at the Morgan. John Marciari, Charles W. Engelhard Curator of Drawings and Prints, takes a close look at two beloved 18th-century "Punchinello" drawings by Domenico Tiepolo.

Collection in Focus: Director's Choice

Director Colin B. Bailey takes a close look at three drawings by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), considered some of the finest drawings in the Morgan's collection: Seated Young Woman (ca. 1716), Young Woman Wearing a Chemise (ca. 1718), and Two Studies of the Head and Shoulders of a Little Girl.

Collection in Focus: Martin Puryear's Prints

In January 2021, the Morgan acquired an exceptional group of twenty prints by Martin Puryear. Made between 2001 and 2014 at Paulson Bott Press, Berkeley, CA, they represent nearly all the prints Puryear made during the first fifteen years of the 21st century and include several of his most important works in this medium. Known primarily as a sculptor, Puryear is celebrated for the elegance and refinement of his largely handmade constructions.