Treasures from the Vault

The Morgan is home to some of the world's greatest collections of medieval manuscripts, printed books and bindings, literary manuscripts, private letters and correspondence, and original music. Treasures from the Vault, an ongoing exhibition series, features works drawn from these diverse collections in the sumptuous setting of Pierpont Morgan's 1906 Library.

Highlights from this rotation include correspondence from Sir Isaac Newton and Edouard Manet in addition to illuminated manuscripts, music scores, and personal correspondence from the Morgan’s collection. This rotation also showcases the tremendous riches of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, one of the country’s foremost archives of Americana. These works represent momentous events and key figures in United States history and tell the story of the nation’s progress over two centuries, from independence to the abolition and aftermath of slavery.

Additionally, this installation marks the first of three displays that celebrate the music manuscript collection of Robert Owen Lehman, which is on deposit at the Morgan. The present selection includes J. S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue for organ in B Minor, BWV 544; Beethoven’s Rage Over the Lost Penny, Brahms’s First Piano Concerto (score for piano solo); Haydn’s last string quartet; Liszt’s B Minor Sonata; and Stravinsky’s Petrushka (1911). The music manuscripts on view will change continuously throughout the 2016–17 season.

Treasures from the Vault is funded in perpetuity in memory of Christopher Lightfoot Walker.

Exhibition overview from the museum website