The Morgan Library & Museum

The Morgan Library & Museum began as the private library of financier Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), an art collectors and cultural benefactor. As early as 1890 Morgan had begun to assemble a collection of illuminated, literary, and historical manuscripts, early printed books, and old master drawings and prints.
In 2006 the library underwent a large expansion designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, adding 75,000 square feet to the campus: the project increased exhibition space by more than fifty percent and added a new performance hall, a welcoming entrance on Madison Avenue, a new café and a new restaurant, a shop, a new reading room, and collections storage.