Zoom – Deborah Parker on Becoming Belle da Costa Greene

November Midday Program

Belle da Costa Greene was Pierpont Morgan’s personal librarian from 1908–1913 and from 1924–1948 the first Director of the Morgan Library. Though a striking and much written about figure, much of what is known about Greene derives from her more than 600 letters to art historian Bernard Berenson. While Greene’s letters to the connoisseur have proven invaluable to writers seeking to reconstruct the larger narrative of her life, the artistry of the letters and the way in which her writing creates a singular self, have gone unnoticed. Parker’s talk will examine Greene’s vivid account of her working life — how she managed her education, her vibrant responses to books, and some of her most signal accomplishments.

Deborah Parker is Professor of Italian at the University of Virginia. Her research expertise and teaching focus on Italian and Mediterranean visual and print cultures in the medieval and early modern eras. Her latest book, Becoming Belle da Costa Greene — A Visionary Librarian Through Her Letters is published by Villa I Tatti.

Register today!

Preregistration required via website. Zoom presentation is free and open to all. Please forward this notice to anyone who may find it of interest.

Even if you can’t attend at the scheduled time, if you’re interested, please register. After the program, we’ll send an email to all registrants, asking if you’d like a link to the complete recording. That way you can see the program even if you couldn’t attend live, ran into technical issues, or simply wanted to watch it again.