From Palma to Princeton: Unraveling the Mystery of a Mallorcan Stairway

A beautifully illustrated look at the complex past of Princeton’s Mallorcan stairway and gallery

In preparation for the opening of the Princeton University Art Museum’s new building in 2025, one of the major works in its collection, a Mallorcan stairway and gallery dated to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, underwent a multiyear conservation treatment. During this period, art historian Alexandra Letvin and conservator Elena Torok began to investigate its origins and history. The surprising story that emerged crisscrosses the Atlantic and features the architect Julia Morgan; the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst; an American couple whose publications contributed to the field of Spanish art history but whose activities as dealers led to the exportation of countless works of Spanish art and architecture; a Mallorcan artist and gallerist who played a role in the dispersal of the island’s architectural heritage; and a baron and baroness who rebuilt their lives and art collection in New Jersey after fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe.

This richly illustrated volume features beautiful new photography of the stairway and gallery as well as archival and historical images, many published for the first time. Letvin and Torok explain how and why these architectural elements from Mallorca made the journey to New Jersey, sharing crucial discoveries about the complex past of a magnificent ensemble that has been viewed by generations of Museum visitors.

Alexandra Letvin is the Duane Wilder, Class of 1951, Associate Curator of European Art at the Princeton University Art Museum. Elena Torok is the associate objects conservator at the Princeton University Art Museum.