New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-10
The Morgan Collections and the Public
Interest.

II is natural that the sale of the Morgan porce-
lains should revive curiosity as to the ultimate
disposition of all the works Of art brought TO-
gether by their late owner From the moment
they passed under the control of his son every
body has wondered what he would do with them,
and since he has not cared, as yet, to make any
statement defnitively clarifying the question,
much miscellaneous guesswork has been inevta-
Bile. A guess of our own, in which we place
certain confidence, is that Mr.. Morgan does not
know much more about his intentions than we do.
Such problem as is constituted in that i'm
mense assemblage of paintings, tapestries, fur
nture, sculptures and so on at the Metropolitan
Museum might stagger anybody. Suppose, for
example that he wants to sell it. The good bar
gain which he appears to have made IN respect to
the porceans does not by any means imply that
Re could as satisfactorily dispose of everything
else tomorrow. Neither in the auction room nor
through private sale could the final break up of
the Morgan cosmos of art be safely rsked just
now. We surmise that the business will be left
for time TO decide. Mr.. Morgan may be waiting,
like the public, to find out whether our museum
or the memorial at Hartford, or the heirs to his
fathers estate are D profit. But meanwhile
the relation OF the public interest to this matter
is possibly susceptible of something like definite
discussion.
At first blush a decision to sell all the Morgan
treasures would seem TO spell public calamity
1t would leave a multitude of scars upon the
walls of the Metropolitan. Some of these, many,
in fact, might never be healed. In spite of the
terrible effects of the upon European finances,
public and private it is probable that in the event
of sale many of the Morgan masterpieces
would 90 abroad. But there are two important
points to remember in regard to the great mass
which would remain here. In the first place, a
good deal of it would sooner or later ccme back
TO the Metropolitan through requests. Secondly,
a good deal of it would be distributed over the
country, in other museums, either at the time of
the sale or later, as one collecto. after another
paws the gracious tribute to civic culture which
has already become characteristic of this country.
Thus, in a common-sense view of the subject.
there is no real cause for the anxious excitement
which seems to be promoted Whenever the destiny
of the Morgan treasures is talked about.
The settlement of the question will of course
make when il comes, worldwide sensation, due
TO the scale and fame of these collections and TO
the love for a riddle and its answer implanted in
the human breast. Whatever that settlement
may be- the public interest will still be served
j. Pierpont Morgan's works of art, whether kept
together in New York or scattered throughout
the United States, will remain fertilizing gift to
the people. Perhaps, after all, the more widely
they are scattered the more to his honor will be
the gift If such reflection does violence to
local pride" it is at all events not unpatriotic.