 |
| Portrait by Paul Cesar Helleu from Wikipedia |
It does not surprise me a to find a strong, smart woman behind a great man. It’s a pattern that can be traced back to Genghis Khan (Borte), Napoleon (Josephine), FDR (Eleanor) and Ronald Reagan (Nancy). Not to say that these women were calling all the shots, but they certainly wielded great influence in the decisions made by their men. Before the women’s movement, women often worked in the shadows, quietly offering advice and making things happen through their connections, thankfully they now they can wield their intellect and power without a front man (Hilary Clinton is an example of doing it both ways).
I nominate the great J.P Morgan to the select group of men who were smart enough to heed the advice of their ‘better half’. The previous two posts have documented Morgan’s phenomenal library and museum in NYC but today I discovered that his great library collection was thanks to the decades of work by Belle da Costa Greene. She was not his wife or mistress (as far as we know) but his personal librarian and worked for the library for over 40 years. J.P.’s son, Jack Morgan, asked her to stay and continue to work for the library after his father’s death in 1913 and she was hired as the first director of the Library and museum in 1924.
Belle Marion Greener was born into a prominent African American family in Washington, D.C in 1879. Her father was the Dean of the Law School at Howard University and the first African American to graduate from Harvard College. Her mother, Ida Fleet was from an old, well-respected family in D.C. When her parents separated, Belle, who was light skinned, changed her name to Greene, added da Costa to connote a Portugese background and passed as white. She then began her library work at Princeton University, where she met the librarian Junius Morgan and was lucky enough to be introduced to his uncle, “J.P.”.
Belle Marion Greener was born into a prominent African American family in Washington, D.C in 1879. Her father was the Dean of the Law School at Howard University and the first African American to graduate from Harvard College. Her mother, Ida Fleet was from an old, well-respected family in D.C. When her parents separated, Belle, who was light skinned, changed her name to Greene, added da Costa to connote a Portugese background and passed as white. She then began her library work at Princeton University, where she met the librarian Junius Morgan and was lucky enough to be introduced to his uncle, “J.P.”.
She was hired by J.P. Morgan in 1905 to manage his personal collection and they both discovered that she had a gift for negotiating deals for manuscripts, rare books and art. She quickly earned his trust and went on to spend his millions building the world class collection we can enjoy at The Morgan today. In addition to her book smarts, she had great personal style and flair and she is attributed with the quote, “just because I’m a librarian doesn’t mean I have to dress like one.”
Nor did she behave like one, she put her rare books aside long enough to enjoy a long romance with Bernard Berenson, a well know art historian who was also a married man. She earned a certain popularity from her powerful position at the Morgan and enjoyed a very social, unconventional lifestyle for the time. When Morgan died he left Belle a sizable inheritance of $50,000 (about $800,000 today) but when she was impolitely asked if they were romantically linked all she would reply is, “we tried”. Interestingly, she burned all of her letters before her death and was reluctant to share her personal story (not surprisingly), when she died in 1950 any secrets she had went with her.
Nor did she behave like one, she put her rare books aside long enough to enjoy a long romance with Bernard Berenson, a well know art historian who was also a married man. She earned a certain popularity from her powerful position at the Morgan and enjoyed a very social, unconventional lifestyle for the time. When Morgan died he left Belle a sizable inheritance of $50,000 (about $800,000 today) but when she was impolitely asked if they were romantically linked all she would reply is, “we tried”. Interestingly, she burned all of her letters before her death and was reluctant to share her personal story (not surprisingly), when she died in 1950 any secrets she had went with her.
Belle carved a path in the world on her own terms and in her own way. She achieved incredible success and independence at a time when being a single woman, an African American and even a librarian could easily be held against you. Despite her reality, Belle da Costa Greene was not afraid to show off her talent, her intelligence and her autonomy. Certainly a librarian and a woman born ahead of her time.
No comments:
Post a Comment