Genius has NO Color

A midweek check-in. I took Sunday off to revel in the autumn leaves! I was also reveling in the strength of “we the people.” Brave, strong, determined, peaceful. 

Women who are brave and strong always inspire. Against almost all odds, this amazing woman not only carved out a great place in history for herself but created a treasured, one of a kind, library. A true inspiration to what an indomitable spirit can do! 

Photo Credit: Morgan Library

Belle Marion Greener was born into a prominent African-American family  in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. on November 26, 1879, according to her biographer, Heidi Ardizzone. She has a rich family heritage. Her mother was a music teacher, and her father was the first Black student to attend and the first Black graduate of Harvard University. He worked as an attorney, a professor, and a racial justice advocate while serving as the dean of Howard University Law School. Belle’s maternal grandfather was an abolitionist and founding member of the Mount Zion United Methodist congregation in Georgetown. This church served as a station on the Underground Railroad. 

 Belle’s parents separated in 1914. Belle, her mother, and her siblings were light-skinned and passed as white. To distance themselves from her father, Belle changed her name to da Costa, feeling that claiming a Portuguese heritage would explain her darker complexion. Her mother reverted to her maiden name of Van Vliet, assuming her Dutch ancestry. Belle was estranged from her father and listed him as deceased. 

The changes she and her family made in stated ancestry resulted in some complications. Belle let people believe she had grown up in Virginia and claimed she was much younger than she was. Given her youthful appearance, that was easy to believe. Her biographer, Heidi Ardizzone, calls this a “masquerade” because “single women past a certain age were disdained.” 

While working in the offices at Columbia University’s Teachers College, Bell met Grace Hoadley Dodge, a philanthropist and social welfare advocate. Grace recognized Belle’s intellect, powerful will and extraordinary abilities, which impressed her. Grace not only arranged for Belle’s admittance to the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies, but funded her education there. The summer after her graduation, Belle attended Amherst Colleges, Summer School of Library Economy, a six-week program offering courses in library science, including cataloging, indexing, and penmanship. 

This brief encounter with library science and her passion for it opened up an opportunity for Belle to work at the Princeton University Library. While there she was further trained in reference work, cataloging and a knowledge of rare books. During this time at Princeton, Belle met Junius Spencer Morgan II, who introduced her to his uncle J.P. Morgan. Impressed with her, Morgan hired her as his librarian. Her first task was organizing, cataloging, and shelving his extensive collection of books. She was assisted by Ada Thurston, who was an experienced bibliographer. 

As we know, J.P. Morgan was a very wealthy man and financier. There were continuous requests for his support and funding. Belle became the gatekeeper, screening all requests. One of those that Belle recognized as having merit was Edward Curtis, the great ethnographer and photographer. After much correspondence, Belle passed his request on to Morgan, who then granted him an interview. Curtis’s work was masterful, and Morgan supported the beautiful 20-volume The North American Indian. The work contained not only photos but ethnographic information. 

Morgan developed a strong bond with Belle; deep respect and trust in her expertise. Soon Belle was representing Morgan abroad. She was an expert in illuminated manuscripts and barraging power with dealers. She told Morgan that her goal was to make his library “preeminent, especially for incunabula, manuscripts, bindings, and the classics.” (Incunabula: a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500). Belle didn’t just organize books—she became one of the most formidable cultural forces of her era. She spoke five languages and commanded respect from scholars who never suspected the courage that it took to be simply in their presence. An article in the New York Times called her a “force of persuasion and intelligence.” She was asked if she was J.P. Morgan’s mistress, and her response was “We tried!” She had a lasting romantic relationship with the Renaissance Italian art expert, Bernard Berenson. 

Belle had a particular focus, and that was making rare books accessible to the public. She didn’t want them locked up in private collections or vaults. In 1924, when the Morgan Library became a public institution, Belle became the first director. She celebrated this promotion by mounting a series of public exhibitions of rare materials that drew a record 170,000 people. 

Belle continued to work for the Morgan family after J.P.’s death until she retired in 1948. J.P. Morgan left her fifty thousand dollars in his will, and she continued to work for the Morgan family with a salary of $10,000 per year. Belle was a woman of great worth, not only personally but financially. The New York Times referred to her as “one of the best known librarians in the country.” Belle wore her elegance like armor and her brilliance like a crown. She attended galas, cultivated powerful friendships, and navigated a society built to exclude her—all while protecting the secret that would have erased everything she’d built.  

She proved that genius has no color—even in a world obsessed with racial boundaries. 

Belle took on various other projects while working at the Morgan Library. She was one of the first women named a fellow of the Mediaeval Academy of America, a fellow in perpetuity of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and served on the editorial boards of the Gazette des Beaux Art and ART news.  

Books about Belle’s life:

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray is an excellent historical fiction overview of Belle’s professional life. 

An Illuminated Life: Belle Da Costa Greene’s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege, by Heidi Ardizzone.

Belle Da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy by Dr Anne-Marie Eze.