From Florence to South Kensington to New York: J. Pierpont Morgan’s bronze doors

Lecture in English by Lynn Catterson

In 1901 the New York financier William Salomon visited Florence in order to acquire art and decorative furnishings for his future mansion at 1020 Fifth Avenue. He visited the collections of the Florentine dealer Stefano Bardini, on display in both the Galleries in Piazza Mozzi and his Villa Marignolle. Among Salomon’s purchases were the ‘Ghiberti-style’ bronze doors that now adorn the Morgan library.

Dr Catterson of Columbia University has investigated the Bardini archive and has made some astonishing discoveries.

 

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