Belle da Costa Greene
Encyclopedia
Belle da Costa Greene was the librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...

 to J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...

 and after his death in 1913, Belle continued as librarian under his son, Jack Morgan. In 1924 the private collection was incorporated by the State of New York as a library for public uses, and the Board of Trustees appointed Belle first director of the Pierpont Morgan Library.

She was born Belle Marion Greener in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and grew up there and in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Her biographer Heidi Ardizzone lists Belle's birth date as November 26, 1879. Her mother was Genevieve Ida Fleet, a member of a well-known African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 family in the nation's capital, while her father was Richard Theodore Greener
Richard Theodore Greener
Richard Theodore Greener was the first African-American graduate of Harvard College and dean of the Howard University School of Law....

, an attorney who served as dean of the Howard University School of Law
Howard University School of Law
Howard University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Howard University. Located in Washington, D.C., it is one the oldest law schools in the country and the oldest historically black college or university law school in the United States...

 and was the first black student and first black graduate of Harvard (class of 1870). After his separation from his wife (they never divorced), Greener became a U.S. diplomat posted to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

, where he produced a second family with a Japanese woman. Once Belle took the job with Morgan, she likely never spoke to her father again. She may have met him once in Chicago around 1913, but there are no letters or written proof. Belle burned all personal papers in her possession shortly before her death, and Richard lost most of his in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

After her parents' separation, the light-skinned Belle, her mother, and siblings passed as white and changed their surname to Greene to distance themselves from their father. Her mother changed her maiden name to Van Vliet, apparently in an effort to assume Dutch ancestry, while Belle dropped her middle name in favor of da Costa and began claiming a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

 background to explain her dusky complexion. Eventually, she moved to Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

, where she worked at the Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 Library.

The financier J. P. Morgan had in 1902 engaged Charles F. McKim
Charles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim FAIA was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partnership McKim, Mead, and White....

 to build him a library to the east of his Madison Avenue brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...

 as his collection already was too large for his study. To manage his collection he hired Greene as his personal librarian in 1905, having been introduced to her by his nephew, Junius, a Princeton student. Soon trusted for her expertise (she was an expert in illuminated manuscripts) as well as her bargaining prowess with dealers, Greene would spend millions of dollars not only buying but selling rare manuscripts, books and art. She has been described as smart and outspoken as well as beautiful and sensual. While she enjoyed a Bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...

 freedom, she was also able to move with ease in elite society, known for her exotic looks and designer wardrobe. "Just because I am a librarian," Greene reportedly announced, "doesn't mean I have to dress like one."

Not only did her bearing, style, and seemingly unlimited means attract notice, but "her role at the Morgan Library placed her at the center of the art trade and her friendship was coveted by every dealer." The power that she wielded for 43 years was unmatched. She told Morgan - who was willing to pay any price for important works - that her goal was to make his library "pre-eminent, especially for incunabula, manuscripts, bindings
Bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material. It usually involves attaching covers to the resulting text-block.-Origins of the book:...

, and the classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...

."

J.P. Morgan left her $50,000 in his will, which at that time was a significant sum, reportedly $800,000 in modern money. Asked if she was Morgan's mistress, she is said to have replied, "We tried!" She never married, however, and her most lasting romantic relationship was with the Renaissance Italian art expert Bernard Berenson
Bernard Berenson
Bernard Berenson was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. He was a major figure in pioneering art attribution and therefore establishing the market for paintings by the "Old Masters".-Personal life:...

.

Greene retired in 1948 and died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

two years later.
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