3,000 years of narrative: The Morgan unveils a global history of storytelling
Keith Haring (1958-1990), Untitled [drawing], 1980 Brush and sumi ink on paper. The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of the Keith Haring Foundation, 2011.42. © Keith Haring Foundation. Photography by Steven H. Crossot.
NEW YORK, NY.—
The Morgan Library & Museum presents Come Together: 3,000 Years of Stories and Storytelling, an exhibition exploring the rich history of storytelling through remarkable objects from the Morgan’s collection alongside some exceptional loans. On view from January 30 through May 3, 2026, the exhibition unites modern and historical works, often in compelling juxtapositions, to underscore conceptual, thematic, and visual links between them. It highlights a variety of narratives, from the Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis—among the earliest literary works preserved in written form—and the oral traditions of the first storytellers of North America, the Indigenous peoples, to works by writers and artists inspired by New York City. Showcasing more than 140 objects from across the Morgan’s eight curatorial departments, Come Together includes drawings, paintings, photographs, printed books, manuscripts, films, artifacts, comics, and more.
“The Morgan is pleased to present this interdisciplinary exhibition, the result of four years of research into a theme that lies at the heart of our institution: storytelling,” said Colin B. Bailey, Katharine J. Rayner Director of the Morgan Library & Museum. “Come Together offers a singular opportunity to experience some of the most beloved works in our collection through a fresh, dynamic lens.”
“Stories shape cultures—and connect us across time and place,” said Deirdre Jackson, Assistant Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and curator of the exhibition. “Come Together invites discovery, encouraging visitors to delve into the Morgan’s vast collection and to explore narratives that transcend geography, culture, and personal identity.”
Come Together offers new perspectives on the cultural transmission of stories and their overall importance in five sections. “Belief and Belonging” considers origin stories, epics, legends, and myths, underscoring the importance of oral traditions and giving primacy to the Indigenous storytellers of North America. This section examines how centuries-old stories can be retold and recontextualized in different cultures and times. Notable objects include a ceremonial raven mask attributed to the Kwakwaka’wakw hereditary chief and master carver Xi’xa’niyus (Bob Harris), as well as works responding to classical mythology by Rembrandt, Igor Stravinsky, George Platt Lynes, and Bethany Collins.
Editors, publishers, illustrators, and translators all contribute to the development of literary works and are often less visible than the authors. “Shaping Stories” sheds light on these roles, and on the creative process, through the presentation of drafts, typescripts, and sketches, including a heavily annotated page of James Joyce’s Ulysses and Jean de Brunhoff’s earliest drawings of Babar. Also showcased are important landmarks in the publishing world: a woodcut- illustrated edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, printed around 1483 by William Caxton—the first to print books in English—and the first collection of Shakespeare’s plays, the famous First Folio (1623).
“Picture This” demonstrates diverse approaches to visual storytelling through a wide array of objects, from Indian miniatures and shadow puppets to early films by Walt Disney and Charlie Chaplin. This section also considers devices such as the speech bubble, featured, for example, in Roy Lichtenstein’s lithograph Crak! (1963). Parallels are drawn between similar approaches to visual storytelling across cultures. A leaf from an English medieval manuscript, which uses sequences of pictures to signal movement through time and space, is paired with a storyboard by Maurice Sendak made in 1979, which deploys the same strategy.
In “Life Stories,” boundaries between imaginative and actual worlds are blurred. This section features texts and artworks that speak to personal experience, including Henry David Thoreau’s journals, Édouard Manet’s only surviving notebook, and artworks by Francisco Goya, Philip Guston, Nellie Mae Rowe, Nancy Spero, and Kara Walker, all of which assert their creators’ individuality.
The final section,“New York Stories,” reflects the multicultural metropolis as seen through the lens of visitors, immigrants, and native New Yorkers, among them Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Stuart Davis, Peter Hujar, and Faith Ringgold. New York City has served as a stimulus and an inspiration for countless writers and artists, and this section explores connections among New Yorkers from all walks of life.
