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J.P. Morgan: Banker, Collector, Renaissance Prince
Live Broadcast: February 28, 2025
Presented by: Curt DiCamillo
Few people in American history have collected art on such a voracious scale as J.P. Morgan. But the famous Gilded Age banker didn't just buy in quantity, he also had a very sophisticated eye. Morgan collected everything: paintings, etchings, rare manuscripts, furniture, books, jeweled objects, rugs, porcelain, religious art, tapestries, and Egyptian, Islamic, and Asian art. Not since the days of the Florentine Renaissance princes had such a collection been assembled. Whether viewed as a robber baron or an enlightened philanthropist, Morgan's contribution toward making the United States a center of world class art collections is undeniable.
About the Speaker
Curt DiCamillo, who joined American Ancestors in February of 2016 as the organization’s first Curator of Special Collections, is an internationally recognized authority on British historic houses and the decorative arts (his award-winning website on British country houses can be found here: TheDiCamillo.com). Before coming to American Ancestors, Curt was the Executive Director of The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA, where he successfully raised more than $7 million and initiated many innovative programs. As Curator of Special Collections, he provides strategic direction for organizing and exhibiting our extensive collection of fine art and family history-related artifacts, leads the Society’s Heritage Tours, and provides educational outreach through American Ancestors' extensive webinar series. In recognition of his work, Curt has been presented to the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and The Prince of Wales. He is an alumnus of the Royal Collection Studies program, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a member of the Council of the American Museum in Britain. Curt’s book, Villa Astor: Paradise Restored on the Amalfi Coast, was published in 2017 by Flammarion. He is also the brother of the award-winning author Kate DiCamillo, something of which he’s extraordinarily proud.