by Sandra Hutchinson

Several years ago I read a book – labeled historical fiction – entitled The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. Published in 2021, the dust cover describes the book as “the remarkable story of J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation.”

After reading the book, which I devoured, I checked out the website of the Morgan Library & Museum, located at 225 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, and read more about this remarkable women who was responsible for curating an extraordinary collection of manuscripts, book and artwork for J. Pierpont Morgan’s personal library (which later opened to the public) while her Black heritage was apparently unknown to everyone who encountered her. I read that the library was in the process of researching Belle’s life and work and would be mounting a major exhibition on her.

The exhibit opened in late October, 2024, and continues to May 4, 2025. If you have any interest in these topics, I urge you to visit, as I did in November. Here’s a link to the Library & Museum’s website: https://www.themorgan.org

Born in 1879 in Washington, D.C., and named Belle Marion Greener, Belle was the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard, and Genevieve Ida Fleet Greener. According to the Morgan Library website: “After her parents separated in the 1890s, her mother changed the family surname to Greene, Belle and her brother adopted variations of the middle name da Costa, and the family began to pass as white in a racist and segregated America.” It is said the family represented itself as having Portuguese ancestry.

Further, “Greene is well known for the instrumental role she played in building the exceptional collection of rare books and manuscripts formed by American financier J. Pierpont Morgan, who hired her as his personal librarian in 1905. After Morgan’s death in 1913, Greene continued as the librarian of his son and heir, J.P. Morgan Jr., who would transform his father’s Library into a public institution in 1924. But her career as director of what was then known as the Pierpont Morgan Library―a leadership role she held for twenty-four years―is less well understood, as are aspects of her education, private collecting, and dense social and professional networks.”

While working at Princeton University, around 1902, Belle met J. Pierpont Morgan’s nephew, Junius Spencer Morgan II, who introduced her to his uncle. J. P Morgan hired Belle as his personal librarian in 1905. The photos below show the stunning interior of the library.

In preparation for the exhibit, Morgan staffers transcribed over 600 letters that Belle had written to the art historian Bernard Berenson, which were felt to be critical to understanding both her personal and professional life. The two were connected professionally and romantically for 40 years. The exhibit describes some of the negotiations and dealings Belle engaged in to acquire materials for the library, and identifies rare and unique acquisitions for which she is credited.

In addition to examining Belle’s life and career, the exhibit gets into the practice known as “passing,” or when a person with non-white ancestry or heritage, “passes” for white.

There’s much more to the exhibit, including examples of other people “passing” for white, and more history on Belle’s family, and especially her father, who had an impressive career as a scholar, professor and lawyer.

There’s a lot of other things to see at the Morgan Library & Museum. Consider purchasing admission tickets ahead, online, on the website: https://www.themorgan.org/visit

Here is an image of the book cover of The Personal Librarian, if you’re interested in reading it: