The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, is home to one of the most important collections of historic book art and drawings in the USA. Since renovation and the re-opening of the extension designed by Renzo Piano in Spring of 2006, the institution – created 80 years ago to house the collection belonging to art patron John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) – has played a prominent role in New York’s museum world. The Staatliche Graphische Sammlung Munich will be hosting a display of 100 masterpieces from five centuries in its exhibition rooms at the Pinakothek der Moderne. Morgan, a wealthy banker and benefactor, collected manuscripts, books, paintings, sculpture, drawings and other European works of art. Its is the first time that many works return to Europe. Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919) collected the drawings during his stay in Italy and sold the collection afterwards to Morgan.
