Videos

Lequeu, exceptional draftsman?

Join Basile C. Baudez, Assistant Professor at Princeton University, for a presentation contextualizing Lequeu’s production in the history of architectural draftsmanship and to uncover the reasons why he remains one of the most fascinating artists of his time. Held Friday, January 31, 2020.

Young Concert Artists: Hanzhi Wang and Omer Quartet

Hanzhi Wang, accordion and Omer Quartet. Held January 29, 2020.

Restoration of J. Pierpont Morgan's Library: Pigeon Abatement

In this video, John Pace, President of Birdmaster, discusses their work in developing a pigeon abatement system for our building.

Illusions of the Photographer: Duane Michals at the Morgan

Contemplative, confessional, and comedic, the art of Duane Michals exerts an appeal that transcends the conventional audience of photography. Since the early 1960s, Michals has worked past what he sees as the limitations of the camera: he writes in the margins of his prints, creates sequences of images that explore intangible human dilemmas (doubt, mortality, desire), and derives poetic effects from technical errors such as double exposure and motion blur.

British Aristocrats and American Plutocrats in the Age of Sargent

Sir David Cannadine, Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University, President of the British Academy, and Editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, explores the interconnected, transatlantic worlds of the traditional and titled British wealth elite and the new American multimillionaires—the former on the defensive, the latter on the rise—during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Held Wednesday, December 11, 2019.

Restoration of J. Pierpont Morgan's Library Roof

In this video, Slawomir Wiszowaty, discusses the work the roofers are doing to complete this project.

Restoration of J. Pierpont Morgan's Library Façade

The façade of our J. Pierpont Morgan Library building uses a complex ancient Greek building technique that enables the stone to have no visible mortar.

Carol Wincenc 50th Anniversary Celebration

Internationally acclaimed flutist Carol Wincenc launches a season-long celebration of her five-decade performing career with a concert that features the world premieres of two new works commissioned for the occasion by Jake Heggie and Pierre Jalbert. Carol Wincenc, flute; Jake Heggie, piano; Brook Speltz, cello; Escher String Quartet. Held Tuesday, November 12, 2019.

Restoration of J. Pierpont Morgan's Library: Architectural Conservation

The restoration project of our McKim, Mead & White building is moving along with the guidance and careful eye of the architectural conservators from Integrated Conservation Resources, Inc. (ICR).

Verdi and the Ricordi Archive: An Evening with Pierluigi Ledda and Gabriele Dotto

In this conversation, Pierluigi Ledda, Managing Director of the Ricordi Archive, and Gabriele Dotto, Ricordi Archive Scientific Director and exhibition curator, discuss the history and resources of the Archive in general, and specifically the creation of Verdi’s operas Otello and Falstaff. Held Wednesday, October 2, 2019.

John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal

The first major exhibition to explore the artist’s expressive portraits in charcoal, John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal will recognize the sheer scale of Sargent’s achievement as a portrait draftsman. Important international loans, from both public and private collections, will showcase Sargent’s sitters, many of them famous for their roles in politics, society, and the arts.

Restoration of J. Pierpont Morgan's Library: Overview

This is the first comprehensive exterior restoration in the landmark building’s 112-year history and will help to preserve the building for generations to come.

Crafting Cruelty: Hogarth’s Innovative Drawing Methods

Laurel Peterson, Moore Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Drawings and Prints, will offer new insights into Hogarth’s practice as a draftsman, shedding light on the evolution of his drawing style and the role played by drawings in the development of his most iconic satirical prints. Held Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

Carel van Tuyll: Annibale Carracci at the Morgan: Drawings from the Artist's Final Period

Carel van Tuyll, former director of the Department of Graphic Arts at the Musée du Louvre and the Drawing Institute’s 2019 Senior Fellow, gives the annual Thaw Lecture. Sponsored by the Morgan Drawing Institute, the annual Thaw Lecture aims to address critical topics in the study of drawings. Held Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak’s Designs for Opera and Ballet

Renowned for his beloved and acclaimed children’s books, Maurice Sendak (1928–2012) was also an avid music and opera lover. In the late 1970s, he embarked on a successful second career as a designer of sets and costumes for the stage. Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak’s Designs for Opera and Ballet will be the first museum exhibition dedicated to this aspect of his career.

Walt Whitman: Bard of Democracy

The exhibition explores Whitman’s process of self-invention, from his early years as a journalist, through the early 1850s when Whitman began to write more privately and poetically, to his final years.

Early Italian Drawings at the Morgan

In this lecture, Rhoda Eitel-Porter, Editor of Print Quarterly and former Charles W. Engelhard Curator of Drawings at the Morgan, discusses Early Italian drawings at the Morgan. Held Friday, February 15, 2019.

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth celebrates the man and his creation. The exhibition will be the most extensive public display of original Tolkien material for several generations.

Pontormo from Drawing to Painting

Join Davide Gasparotto, Senior Curator of Paintings, J. Paul Getty Museum, for a discussion on works by Jacopo da Pontormo (1494–1557), executed between 1528 and 1530.

An Impetuous Genius: Drawings by Jacopo Tintoretto

Celebrating the opening of Drawing in Tintoretto’s Venice, John Marciari, Charles W. Engelhard Curator of Drawings and Prints—and the curator of the exhibition—presents a new overview of Tintoretto’s work as a draftsman.

It's Alive!: A Visual History of Frankenstein

Commemorating the two hundredth anniversary of Frankenstein—a classic of world literature and a masterpiece of horror—a new exhibition at the Morgan shows how Mary Shelley created a monster.

Nicholas Penny: The Zoomorphic Mask

Sir Nicholas Penny, former director of the National Gallery, London, and the Thaw Senior Fellow at the Morgan Drawing Institute for 2018, gave the annual Thaw Lecture on "The Zoomorphic Mask." Held Tuesday, June 12, 2018.

The Monstrous Other in Medieval Art

Co-curators of the exhibition Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders, Sherry C.M. Lindquist, Associate Professor, Western Illinois University and Asa Simon Mittman, Professor, California State University, Chico, will discuss the ways that medieval artists and writers demonized cultural outsiders, transforming religious and racial others into monsters, framing poverty and impairment as sin, and characterizing women as inherently deviant and dangerous. Held Friday, June 8, 2018.

The Magic of Handwriting: The Pedro Corrêa do Lago Collection

For nearly half a century, Brazilian author and publisher Pedro Corrêa do Lago has been assembling one of the most comprehensive autograph collections of our age, acquiring thousands of handwritten letters, manuscripts, and musical compositions as well as inscribed photographs, drawings, and documents.

The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization

Martin Puchner, Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University (author of The Written World), leads us on a journey through time and around the globe to reveal the powerful role stories and literature have played in creating the world we have today. Held Tuesday, May 22, 2018.

Wayne Thiebaud: Draftsman

Best known for his luscious paintings of pies and ice-cream cones, California artist Wayne Thiebaud (born 1920) has been an avid and prolific draftsman since he began his career as an illustrator and cartoonist.

Artist Talk: A Conversation with Wayne Thiebaud

In conjunction with the exhibition Wayne Thiebaud, Draftsman, the artist discusses the role of drawing in his practice, his beginnings as a cartoonist, his sketching habits, his love of the Old Masters, and his fondness for classic American food. Held Friday, May 18, 2018.

Handwriting Is Not Dead: A Conversation with Collector Pedro Corrêa do Lago

Corrêa do Lago joins Christine Nelson, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, for a lively discussion about the lure of handwriting and the joy of collecting.

Gainsborough Experiments: Cork, Broccoli, Milk, and Drawing the Landscape

In this lecture, Marco Simone Bolzoni, Moore Curatorial Fellow and curator of the exhibition Thomas Gainsborough: Experiments in Drawing, will investigate the unorthodox means and materials used by the artist in his quest to capture the beauty of the English countryside.
Held on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.

Collecting the Past: Pierpont Morgan and Ancient Mesopotamia

The ancient Mesopotamian cylinder seals in the collection of the Morgan are amongst the finest in the world. Sidney Babcock, Jeannette and Jonathan Rosen Curator and Department Head, discusses cylinder seals. Held Monday, April 9, 2018.