J. P. Morgan

Appearance

Morgan often had a tremendous physical effect on people; one man said that a visit from Morgan left him feeling "as if a gale had blown through the house". He was physically large with massive shoulders, piercing eyes, and a purple nose. He was known to dislike publicity and hated being photographed without his permission; as a result of his self-consciousness of his rosacea, all of his professional portraits were retouched. His deformed nose was due to a disease called rhinophyma, which can result from rosacea. As the deformity worsens, pits, nodules, fissures, lobulations, and pedunculation contort the nose. This condition inspired the taunt "Johnny Morgan's nasal organ has a purple hue." Surgeons could have shaved away the rhinophymous growth of sebaceous tissue during Morgan's lifetime, but as a child he suffered from infantile seizures, and Morgan's son-in-law, Herbert L. Satterlee, has speculated that he did not seek surgery for his nose because he feared the seizures would return.

His social and professional self-confidence were too well established to be undermined by this affliction. It appeared as if he dared people to meet him squarely and not shrink from the sight, asserting the force of his character over the appearance of his face.

Morgan smoked dozens of cigars per day and favored large Havana cigars dubbed Hercules' Clubs by observers.

Religion

Morgan was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church, and by 1890 was one of its most influential leaders. He was a founding member of the Church Club of New York, an Episcopal private member's club in Manhattan. Morgan was appointed as one of the first laymen on the committee that created the 1892 revision of the Book of Common Prayer, where he petitioned for the creation of a special limited collectible printing that he later financed. In 1910, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church established a commission, proposed by Bishop Charles Brent, to implement a world conference of churches to address their differences in their "faith and order". Morgan was so impressed by the proposal for such a conference that he contributed $100,000 (equivalent to $2.4 million in 2024) to finance the commission's work.

Residences

His house at 219 Madison Avenue was originally built in 1853 by John Jay Phelps and purchased by Morgan in 1882. On June 6, 1882, it became the first electrically lit private residence in America. A coal-fueled steam engine provided power for two generators that produced the required electricity. His interest in the new technology was a result of his financing Thomas Alva Edison's Edison Electric Illuminating Company in 1878. It was there that a reception of 1,000 people was held for the marriage of Juliet Morgan and William Pierson Hamilton on April 12, 1894, where they were given a favorite clock of Morgan's. Morgan also owned the "Cragston" estate, located in Highland Falls, New York.

J. P. Morgan spent three months of every year in London and owned two houses there. His 'town' house, 13 Prince's Gate, was inherited from his father and was later expanded by the acquisition of the neighboring Number 14 to house his growing art collection. After his death the merged houses were offered to the US government for use as the residence of the US Ambassador, from 1929 to 1955. His other property was Dover House, Putney, which was later demolished and developed into the Dover House Estate.

Yachting

Morgan was the Commodore of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) from 1897 to 1899 (inclusive) and was present at a board meeting on October 27, 1898, to discuss the construction of a new clubhouse. Morgan offered to acquire a 75-by-100-foot (23 by 30 m) plot on 44th Street in midtown Manhattan if the NYYC raised its annual membership dues from $25 to $50 and the new clubhouse occupied the entire site. The NYYC's board accepted his offer, and Morgan bought the lots the next day for $148,000 and donated to the club.

NYYC members hosted an informal housewarming party on January 29, 1901, giving Morgan a trophy in gratitude of his purchase of the site.

An avid yachtsman, Morgan owned several large yachts, the first being the Corsair, built by William Cramp & Sons for Charles J. Osborn (1837–1885) and launched on May 26, 1880. Osborn was Jay Gould's private banker. Morgan bought the yacht in 1882. The well-known quote, "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it" is commonly attributed to Morgan in response to a question about the cost of maintaining a yacht, although the story is unconfirmed.

Corsair was replaced by Corsair II in 1891. Corsair II was acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1898 for use as a gunboat during the Spanish-American War and renamed USS Gloucester. Gloucester saw action at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba and continued to serve in the U.S. Navy until decommissioned in 1919 after service in World War I.

Corsair II was replaced by Corsair III in 1898. Corsair III served Morgan until his death in 1913 and was inherited by his son J.P. Morgan, Jr. Corsair III was acquired by the U.S. Navy for service during World War I and was returned in 1919. Morgan Jr. donated Corsair III to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1930 with the stipulation the yacht be used for survey work and was renamed USC&GS Oceanographer. Oceanographer was transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific Ocean as a survey ship until she was decommissioned and scrapped in 1944.

Collections

Morgan was a wide-ranging collector of books, manuscripts, decorative arts, bronze statuettes, ivories, clocks, etc., with less of an interest in paintings than most collectors. He became a major collector after his father's death in 1891. Referred to as a "collector of collections", he assembled one of the largest and most notable private collections in the world. He was a founding member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a trustee from 1888 to 1913. He became vice-president, then president of the museum in 1904, and directed its emphasis to the pursuit of important, original works. He also donated works to the museum during his lifetime, including a large collection of French decorative arts.

After the passage of a favorable tariff bill, Morgan's collection was shipped from London (mostly from his house at 14 Princes Gate) to the US. His paintings were exhibited at the Metropolitan in 1913, and the entire collection filled the second floor of a new wing at the Metropolitan in 1914. Many of the most valuable works were sold by his son and heir, J. P. Morgan, Jr., (known as Jack). In 1917, Jack donated a substantial portion of his father's collection, which consisted of thousands of objects, estimated at 40% of the total, to the Metropolitan. He also donated the London house at 14 Princes Gate to the U.S. Government to serve as its embassy.

For a number of years, the British artist and art critic Roger Fry served as a curator, and subsequently as a purchasing agent. He came into conflict with Morgan, and his employment at the museum came to an end.

Some paintings and art objects, as well as most of his rare books and manuscripts are in the Morgan Library & Museum on 36th Street, near Madison Avenue in New York City. His son, J. P. Morgan Jr., made the Pierpont Morgan Library a public institution in 1924, as a memorial to his father. He appointed Belle da Costa Greene, his father's private librarian, as its first director.

Gems

By the turn of the century, Morgan had become one of America's most important collectors of gems and had assembled the most important gem collection in the U.S. Tiffany & Co. assembled his first collection, which comprised over 1,000 American gemstones, under Tiffany's chief gemologist, George Frederick Kunz. The collection was exhibited at the World's Fair in Paris in 1889. The exhibit won two golden awards and drew the attention of important scholars, lapidaries, and the general public.

George Frederick Kunz continued to build a second, even finer, collection which was exhibited in Paris in 1900. These collections have been donated to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where they were known as the Morgan-Tiffany and the Morgan-Bement collections.

Photography

Morgan was a patron to photographer Edward S. Curtis, offering Curtis $75,000 in 1906 (equivalent to $1.96 million in 2024) to create a series on the American Indians. Curtis eventually published a 20-volume work entitled The North American Indian. Curtis also produced a motion picture, In the Land of the Head Hunters (1914), which was restored in 1974 and re-released as In the Land of the War Canoes. Curtis was also famous for a 1911 magic lantern slide show The Indian Picture Opera which used his photos and original musical compositions by composer Henry F. Gilbert.