The Ceiling in the East Room of the Pierpont Morgan Library
[Image by Kidist P. Asrat]
The East Room of the Pierpont Morgan Library
Image from The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World
(scroll down at the linked site for the image)
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I posted about a recent trip to New York, and made a list which I titled: Kidist's Best Of in New York City.
One of the places I listed was the Morgan Library.
I took my camera into the library, hoping to take photos of the images I had seen in guide books, but the museum guard told me I couldn't use a flash. The only picture I could take which didn't require extra lighting was the ceiling stained glass window.
I forgot about this photo, and found it while I was organizing my online files.
Although the image came out over-exposed, I was able to use some digital photo editing techniques to make it as much like the original as I could.
It could be that I over-compensated, and the colors are not as saturated as I make them out to be in my final rendition. Nonetheless, the basic outline is as it is, and why not use a bit of fantasy to make something more beautiful? It could just be that the glass needs a bit of cleaning, like the renovations in the Plaza Hotel (which also included replacement of some of the stained glass).
I went to the library with a friend. When we entered the West Room, or Pierpont Morgan's study, we saw a number of portraits of Morgan and his descendants, stern and serious, looking down at us. "These are the white men of yonder years," I quipped: "We don't see them like this anymore, confident, sure and authoritative. Creating our Western civilization. Now, if white men ever had the same amount of zeal and commitment to their culture and society, they would be called racist. Now, they have to aspire to the lowest common denominator, rather than the highest. They cannot anger and cause resentment, or instill feelings of inferiority, to those many races and nations that cannot achieve, and have not achieved, the same brilliance."
Portrait of J. P. Morgan, Jr. (1867–1943) in a Cambridge Robe, 1934
Artist: Frank Owen Salisbury (British, 1874–1962)
Oil on canvas
48 5/8 x 39 3/8 inches
Commissioned by J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1934
West Room, Pierpont Morgan Library
Here is information on the portrait:
This portrait depicts J. P. Morgan, Jr., Pierpont Morgan's son and founder of this institution, wearing the robes of a Doctor of Laws, an honorary degree conferred by Cambridge University in 1919. The degree was a gesture of gratitude to the younger Morgan, who, as head of the firm J.P. Morgan & Co., provided financial support to the Allies during the First World War.[source: Pierpont Morgan Library]
A closer look at the portrait
Here is information on the artist, Frank Owen Salisbury:
Francis ("Frank") Owen Salisbury (born Harpenden[1] in Hertfordshire, 18 December 1874[1] died Hampstead, London, 31 August 1962[1]) was an English artist who specialised in portraits, large canvases of historical and ceremonial events, stained glass and book illustration. In his heyday he made a fortune on both sides of the Atlantic and was known as “Britain’s Painter Laureate”. His art was steadfastly conservative and he was a vitriolic critic of Modern Art – particularly of his contemporaries Picasso, Chagall and Mondrian. His father, Henry Salisbury, described himself as a “plumber, decorator and ironmonger” (his mother was Susan Hawes[1]), yet his son Frank would become one of the greatest society artists of his generation. [Source: Wikipedia]And more detailed biographical information on J. P. Morgan:
John Pierpont "Jack" Morgan, Jr. (September 7, 1867 — March 13, 1943) was an American banker and philanthropist. He was born on September 7, 1867 in Irvington, New York to J. P. Morgan and Frances Louisa Tracy. He graduated from Harvard in 1886, where he was a member of the Delphic Club, formerly known as the Delta Phi, and Delta Kappa Epsilon. In 1890 Jack married Jane Norton Grew (d. 1925), daughter of Boston banker and mill owner Henry Sturgis Grew. She was the aunt of Henry Grew Crosby. The couple raised four children: Junius Spencer Morgan III; Henry Sturgis Morgan, a founding partner of Morgan Stanley; Jane Norton Morgan Nichols and Frances Tracy Pennoyer. A fifth child, Alice (d. 1918?), died at a young age of typhoid fever. He resembled his father in his dislike for publicity and continued his father's philanthropic policy. In 1905, his father acquired the bank Guaranty Trust as part of his efforts to consolidate New York City banking. After his father died in 1913 the bank became Jack's base. Morgan played a prominent part in financing World War I. Following its outbreak, he made the first loan of $12,000,000 to Russia. In 1915, a loan of $50,000,000 was made to France.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat