In the new book “Becoming Belle da Costa Greene: A Visionary Librarian through Her Letters” (Florence: I Tatti - The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies , 2024), Deborah Parker chronicles the making and empowerment of a female connoisseur, curator, and library director in a world where such positions were held by men. Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950) was Pierpont Morgan’s personal librarian (1908–1913) and the first Director of the Morgan Library (1924–1948). She was also the daughter of two mixed-race parents and passed for white. In the nearly six hundred letters that Greene sent to art historian Bernard Berenson (1865–1959), Parker identifies Greene’s energetic pursuit of exceptional opportunities, illuminating the artistry and imaginative features of Greene’s writing—her self-invention, her vibrant responses to books and art, and her pathbreaking work as a librarian. As Greene transformed a private library into a magnificent public institution, she also transformed herself: hers was a life both lived and writ large.

Zoom webinar registration link: https://bit.ly/4g2xAj3

Deborah Parker is Professor of Italian at the University of Virginia, and her books include “Commentary and Ideology: Dante in the Renaissance,” “Bronzino: Renaissance Painter as Poet,” and “Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing.” Her writings also appear in the exhibition catalog for the Morgan Library & Museum’s centenary exhibition, “Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy.”