Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy

The Morgan Library & Museum presents a major exhibition devoted to the life and career of its inaugural director, Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950). Widely recognized as an authority on illuminated manuscripts and deeply respected as a cultural heritage executive, Greene was one of the most prominent librarians in American history. Greene is well known for the instrumental role she played in building the exceptional collection of rare books and manuscripts formed by American financier and Centurion J. Pierpont Morgan, who hired her as his personal librarian in 1905. After Morgan’s death in 1913, Greene continued as the librarian of his son, heir, and Century member J.P. Morgan Jr., who would transform his father’s Library into a public institution in 1924. Co-curators Philip S. Palmer and Erica Ciallela presented on the role of archives and archival research in telling the story of this remarkable woman’s life at a CAAF-sponsored event at the Century February 9, 2024, which you may view here.

Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger (2024)

Martin Scorsese first encountered the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger when he was a child, sitting in front of the family TV. When their famous logo came up on screen, Scorsese says, “You knew you were in for fantasy, wonder, magic – real film magic.” In the documentary Made in England he tells the story of his lifelong love-affair with their movies, including The Life and Death Of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes and I Know Where I’m Going! Drawing on a rich array of archive material, Scorsese explores in full the collaboration between the Englishman Powell and the Hungarian Pressburger – two romantics and idealists, who thrived in the face of adversity during World War II but were eventually brought low by the film industry of the 1950’s. Scorsese celebrates their ability to create “subversive commercial movies” and describes how deeply their films have influenced his own work. The CAAF hosted Thelma Schoonmaker – wife of the late Powell, Oscar-winning editor on Scorsese’s films, and consultant on the documentary – for an intimate conversation on Michael Powell as a man, artist, collaborator, and Centurion.

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent

CAAF trustee Daniel Okrent “offers a remarkably original account” (The New York Times) of an oft-explored but perennially interesting chapter in American history. Includes a few cameos by the Century, which proved quite skilled and proudly flagrant at skirting liquor laws (even as Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover were amongst its members). Okrent has joked in presentations on the topic: “Prohibition was not much more than a rumor at the Century…”

Wish You Were Here: Guidebooks, Viewbooks, Photobooks, and Maps of New York City, 1807-1940

This Grolier Club exhibition will illustrate how New York City developed and was depicted in images for visitors and residents. Curated by Grolier Club and Century Association member Mark D. Tomasko from his collection, the exhibition features more than 130 objects, including guidebooks, viewbooks, photobooks, maps, and pamphlets. Guidebooks on view trace the growth of the city, including Dr. Mitchill’s Picture of New York (1807, the first guide to New York City), as well as specialty guidebooks and viewbooks, such as for the new Central Park, Ellis Island, speakeasies, restaurants, and skyscrapers. Street panoramas on view, such as Both Sides of Broadway (1910) and Fifth Avenue from Start to Finish (1911), show every building on those streets in detail, and featured photobooks include Bernice Abbott’s Changing New York (1939), and E. Idell Zeisloft’s The New Metropolis (1899) that celebrates the 1898 Consolidation of the City.

Portraits of a Lady (2008) Documentary

A documentary following the myriad depictions resulting when Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor sits for 25 artists and amateurs. The portraitists are from the Painting Group, an art class and salon founded in 1958 by Centurions David Levine and Aaron Shikler, who feature charmingly in the film. An exhibition of Levine’s caricatures of Century members including Dwight D. Eisenhower, Saul Bellow, and John Lindsay is currently on view on the fifth floor of the clubhouse.