The Morgan Library & Museum Announces 2024 Centennial Campaign and Programming

New York, NY (November 9, 2023) – The Morgan Library & Museum announced plans today for its centennial. The year 2024 marks one hundred years of the Morgan Library & Museum as a public institution. Established by Jack Morgan as the Pierpont Morgan Library in 1924, the Morgan has evolved into a major cultural destination in the heart of New York City. With rare and noteworthy collections, a rich calendar of exhibitions and programs, and a world-class research center for scholars, artists, writers, and more, the Morgan’s multifaceted work reaches more than 250,000 visitors on-site and seven million online annually.  

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Centennial Campaign

In celebration of this remarkable milestone, the Morgan has launched a Centennial Campaign, which will both celebrate all that has been accomplished in the last century and look ahead to the next one hundred years of the Morgan and beyond. The $50-million Campaign will raise funds to support the long-term financial health of the institution, with a focus on the three key
pillars.

• Our Collections: the hundreds of thousands of items across eight curatorial departments that form the foundation and springboard for all Morgan exhibitions, programming, and public outreach.
• Our Campus: the extraordinary, one-of-a-kind complex of historic and modern buildings that both safeguard and display our collections and are works of art in themselves.
• Our People: the staff that propels our work, the communities and audiences we serve, and the supporters who sustain our mission.

Upon raising the funds, $35 million will be allocated to increase the endowment, and $15 million will be set aside to address critical facilities and technology needs that underpin the Morgan’s ability to increase access to its collections. The Sherman Fairchild Foundation, a longtime supporter of the Morgan, has made a generous lead gift of $10 million to launch the Morgan’s Centennial Campaign. This will support many areas of need, including:

• $3.5M to name the Walter and Constance Burke Paper Conservator and to establish the Walter and Constance Burke Endowment Fund for Paper Conservation. Walter Burke was a respected member of the Morgan’s board and the longtime president of the Sherman Fairchild Foundation.
• $2M to establish the Barbara H. and Charles E. Pierce Jr. Endowment Fund for Education. Charles E. Pierce was previously Director of the Morgan Library & Museum.
• $2.5M in spendable funds for facilities and technological infrastructure.
• $2M for unrestricted endowment, which will support the Morgan’s various activities and further allow it to increase public access to and engagement with its collections.

The Sherman Fairchild Foundation, along with other generous donors to the campaign, will be celebrated at the Morgan’s Evening Benefit on Monday, March 4, 2024. Alongside the financial campaign, the Morgan’s centennial is an opportunity to build its collection, cement existing relationships with the museum’s communities, and encourage greater engagement with the Morgan.