Patti Smith Sings for a ‘New York Gem’

Over a century ago, JP Morgan built a majestic library for his opulent mansion in Midtown Manhattan. After his death, his son, the financier Jack Morgan, opened it to the public in 1924, and it eventually became the Morgan Library & Museum. Last night crowds of art lovers and well-heeled bibliophiles gathered in that grand library to attend Morgan’s centennial celebration.

Under stained glass windows and murals of Dante and Socrates, guests in tuxedos sipped martinis while a violinist performed classic covers of pop songs by Keane and Taylor Swift. Servants moved through the crowd carrying hors d’oeuvres of crescent duck and caviar as they walked past shelves displaying rare editions of works by Rousseau and Voltaire.

Morgan enthusiasts such as architect Peter Marino, art dealer Vito Schnabel and artist Walton Ford were present. Patti Smith and her daughter, Jesse Paris Smith, who would soon sing a song together at the evening’s dinner, left cocktail hour to stroll through the exhibit.Beatrix Potter: attracted to nature”, with the manuscripts and picture letters from the creator of Peter Rabbit and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.

“Through her ephemera, you can feel Potter looking at her brushes,” Patti Smith said. “The Morgan’s collection honors the hand that writes the book. You get a sense of what an artist or writer was thinking as they were creating. You can see Beethoven’s energy rising ink stains Pages.”

Mr. Schnabel recalled a visit to the Morgan in his youth.

“When I was a boy, Rene Ricard brought me here to look at drawings, so the Morgan has always been dear to me,” he said. “For me, the Morgan is a New York gem.”

Peter Pennoyer, an architect and great-grandson of JP Morgan, stood next to a display case containing an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible.

“My grandmother ran around here as a little girl,” he says.

Soon the guests were dining in Gilbert Court, a modernist pavilion designed by Renzo Piano. As they ate beet salad with feta cheese, Lawrence R. Ricciardi, chairman of Morgan’s board of directors, announced a $10 million gift from Katharine Raynerthe heiress of the media and the automotive sector.

Colin B. Bailey, Morgan’s director, spoke next and was followed by a performance by Latonia Moore, the opera soprano. Mrs. Smith then took the stage to read a poem by Emily Dickinson, and she sang a version of her song “Wing,” accompanied on the piano by her daughter.

Mr. Marino, who wore silver eagle rings on his hand, finished his Tahitian panna cotta as the dinner came to an end. “The recent one Tiepolo exhibition here was off the charts,” he said. “The Morgan may be smaller than the major museums in New York, but for me it has more humanity than all the museums combined.”

Back in the main library, the evening’s afterparty was about to begin. A DJ began spinning dance hits near a four-foot-tall decorative cake that resembled a stack of rare Victorian and medieval bindings. Mrs. Smith spoke again, leading the crowd in song.

“Happy birthday, dear Morgan Library,” she sang. “Congratulations.”