Frick Collection

The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. It was established in 1935 to preserve the art collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection consists of 14th- to 19th-century European paintings, as well as other pieces of European fine and decorative art. It is located at the Henry Clay Frick House, a Beaux-Arts mansion designed for Henry Clay Frick. The Frick also houses the Frick Art Research Library, an art history research center established by Frick's daughter Helen Clay Frick in 1920, which contains sales catalogs, books, periodicals, and photographs.

The museum dates to 1920, when the trustees of Frick's estate formed the Frick Collection Inc. to care for his art collection, which he had bequeathed for public use. After Frick's wife Adelaide Frick died in 1931, John Russell Pope converted the Frick House into a museum, which opened on December 16, 1935. The museum acquired additional works of art over the years, and it expanded the house in 1977 to accommodate increasing visitation. Following fundraising campaigns in the 2000s, a further expansion was announced in the 2010s. From 2021 until March 2024, during the renovation of the Frick House, the Frick Madison operated at 945 Madison Avenue. The Frick House reopened in April 2025.

The Frick has about 1,500 pieces in its collection as of 2021. Artists with works in the collection include Bellini, Fragonard, Gainsborough, Goya, Holbein, Rembrandt, Titian, Turner, Velázquez, Vermeer, and Whistler. The museum has gradually acquired additional pieces over the years to supplement the paintings in Frick's original collection. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum has hosted small temporary exhibitions on narrowly defined topics, as well as academic symposiums, concerts, and classes. The Frick Collection typically has up to 300,000 visitors annually and has an endowment fund to support its programming. Commentary on the museum over the years has been largely positive, particularly in relation to the works themselves and their juxtaposition with the Frick House.

History

Template:For Henry Clay Frick was a coke and steel magnate.<ref name="nyt-1919-12-03">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Bailey p. 10">Template:Harvnb</ref> As early as 1870, he had hung pictures throughout his house in Broadford, Pennsylvania.<ref name="Bailey pp. 10–11">Template:Harvnb</ref> Frick acquired the first painting in his permanent collection, Luis Jiménez's In the Louvre, in 1880,<ref name="Chapin 1971">Template:Cite news</ref> after moving to Pittsburgh.<ref name="Bailey pp. 10–11" /> He did not begin buying paintings in large numbers until the mid-1890s,<ref name="Dobrzynski 1998 j766">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Bailey p. 13">Template:Harvnb</ref> and he began devoting significant amounts of time to his collection.<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1931">Template:Cite news</ref> This made Frick one of several prominent American businessmen who also collected art, along with figures such as Henry Havemeyer and J. P. Morgan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In explaining why he collected art, Frick said, "I can make money... I cannot make pictures."<ref name="Maeder 1999" /> He curated his collection with the help of Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen.<ref name="Lambert 1999">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Fabrikant 2008 p045">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

When the Frick family moved from Pittsburgh to New York City in 1905, they leased the William H. Vanderbilt House at 640 Fifth Avenue,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Maeder 1999">Template:Cite news</ref> and Frick expanded his collection during that time.<ref name="Gutkowski">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The collection was spread across their homes in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.<ref name="Shaw 2007">Template:Cite news</ref> Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings designed Frick's permanent house at 1 East 70th Street,<ref name="Skrabec 2014 p. 210">Template:Harvnb</ref> which was completed in 1914.<ref name="nyt-2014-11-14">Template:Cite news</ref> The house had been designed with the collection in mind.<ref name="Maeder 1999" /> James Howard Bridge, Frick's personal assistant, was hired as the house's curator in 1914 and worked at the house for fourteen years.<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1931">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1932 o394">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Frick, who was known for being especially particular in his tastes,<ref name="Gray 2010 q262">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> spent an estimated $10 million to acquire pieces during his lifetime.<ref name="Boston Daily Globe 1919">Template:Cite news</ref> Duveen opened four art-purchasing accounts for Frick, including two accounts specifically for art from Morgan's estate.<ref name="Bailey p. 76">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Creation

Establishment of Frick Collection Inc.

File:Frickmusjeh.JPG

When Frick died in 1919, he bequeathed the Henry Clay Frick House on Fifth Avenue as a public museum for his art collection.

Frick died in 1919 at the age of 69, bequeathing the house as a public museum for his art collection.<ref name="nyt-1919-12-03" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His widow Adelaide Howard Childs Frick continued living in the mansion with her daughter Helen;<ref name="Newsweek 1935">Template:Cite magazine</ref> if Adelaide died or moved away, the house would be converted to a public museum.<ref name="Times Union 1919">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Andre 1999">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, the collection alone was worth $30 million,<ref name="The New York Times 1921 w450">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> and Frick also provided a $15 million endowment for the maintenance of the collection.<ref name="Times Union 1919" /> Nine people, including Adelaide, Helen, and Helen's brother Childs, were named as trustees of his estate;<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1931a">Template:Cite news</ref> Childs served as the head of the Frick estate's board of trustees until his death in 1965.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Per the terms of Frick's will, the trustees moved to incorporate Frick's art collection in April 1920, submitting articles of incorporation to the New York state government.<ref name="The New York Times 1920 p230">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick Collection Inc. was incorporated that month.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The New York and Pennsylvania state governments fought over which government should collect taxes from Frick's estate.<ref name="The New York Times 1921 t342">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Amid this dispute, the collection was reassessed at $13 million in 1921;<ref name="The New York Times 1921 w450" /> this figure was repeated in a revised appraisal of Frick's estate that was filed with the New York state government in 1923.<ref name="The New York Times 1923 v253">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Meanwhile, Helen Frick studied plans for the Witt Library in London in the early 1920s, as she wanted to create a library for Frick's personal collection.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Helen catalogued most of the collection over the next decade.<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1931a" /> The Frick Art Research Library, originally named the Frick Art Reference Library, was organized at the mansion after Frick's death,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and a dedicated library building opened the next year.<ref name="Howell 1951 pp. 123–126" /> During the 1920s, the library added thousands of volumes and photographs to its holdings.<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1931" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Over the years, four additional trustees had to be appointed after their predecessors died.<ref name="Newsweek 1935" />

Opening of museum

After Adelaide Frick's death in October 1931, the trustees were finally allowed to open the house to the public;<ref name="The New York Times 1931 x3562">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> they announced in January 1933 that the collection would likely open to the public within a year.<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1933">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1933 s798">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> John Russell Pope was hired to alter and enlarge the house.<ref name="nycland">Template:Cite nycland</ref> Frederick Mortimer Clapp, who had joined the Frick Collection as an advisor in 1931,<ref name="nyt-1969-12-17">Template:Cite news</ref> was hired as the museum's first director.<ref name="The New York Times 1933 s798" /><ref name="Bailey p. 99">Template:Harvnb</ref> Work on the mansion began in December 1933.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A new library wing was constructed on 71st Street to replace the original library.<ref name="The New York Times 1934 c417">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other modifications included a new storage vault and renovations of the Frick family's living space.<ref name="Rhodenbaugh 1935">Template:Cite news</ref> The museum's opening, originally scheduled for 1934, was postponed because of the complexity of the construction project.<ref name="The New York Times 1934 f332">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

}}</ref> The Frick estate also sued the city government in 1935 to obtain a property-tax exemption for the museum,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the taxes were waived the next year, as the Frick Collection was a public museum.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Frick Art Reference Library - interior.jpg

The Frick Art Research Library reopened in 1935.

When the rebuilt library opened in January 1935,<ref name="The New York Times 1935 d548">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> it had 200,000 photographs, 18,000 catalogs of art sales, and 45,000 books.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The museum itself had a soft opening on December 11, 1935;<ref name="The New York Times 1935 s753">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> the preview was noteworthy enough that the names of 700 visitors were published in that day's New York Herald Tribune.<ref name="Charleston Daily Mail 2010">Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick Collection officially opened to the public five days later on December 16.<ref name="The New York Times 1935 r493">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> When it opened, the museum did not charge admission fees,<ref name="Newsweek 1935" /><ref name="nyt-1935-12-22">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> but staff distributed timed-entry tickets to prevent crowding.<ref name="Newsweek 1935" /><ref name="Rhodenbaugh 1935" /><ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1935">Template:Cite news</ref> Although about 600 tickets were distributed daily to people who showed up in person,<ref name="Sherburne 1936">Template:Cite news</ref> other visitors had to make reservations several weeks in advance due to high demand.<ref name="Newsweek 1935" /><ref name="Rhodenbaugh 1935" /> Ropes were placed throughout the house to force visitors to follow a specific path.<ref name="Newsweek 1935" /> The galleries were originally closed on holidays, Sundays, and for a month in the middle of the year.<ref name="Sherburne 1936" /> Artworks were arranged based on how they blended in with the house's ambiance, rather than being arranged by year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1930s to 1960s

Within a year of the museum's opening, demand had declined enough that officials decided to scale down, and then eliminate, its timed-entry ticketing system.<ref name="nyt-1937-01-31">Template:Cite news</ref> The ropes throughout the house were taken down, and visitors were allowed to visit the Frick House's rooms in any order.<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1937">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Bailey p. 109">Template:Harvnb</ref> Museum officials also presented lectures five days a week during the late 1930s,<ref name="nyt-1937-01-31" /><ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1937" /> and they started hosting afternoon concert series in November 1938;<ref name="Bailey p. 109" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> these concerts and lectures continued throughout Clapp's tenure at the museum.<ref name="nyt-1969-12-17" /> Clapp also obtained fresh flowers each day and placed them in the first-floor galleries for esthetic purposes.<ref name="nyt-1969-12-17" /> Three magnolia trees were planted on the grounds in 1939.<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 a388">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To expand their land holdings, museum officials bought a neighboring townhouse at 9 East 70th Street in 1940<ref name="The New York Times 1940 j947">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and used that building as storage space.<ref name="nyt-1973-06-15">Template:Cite news</ref>

Museum officials constructed a vault in 1941 to protect the artwork from air raids.<ref name="The New York Times 1941 d452">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During World War II, the museum continued to host visitors, but some rooms were closed,<ref name="The New York Times 1942 a251">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and more than five dozen paintings and all of the sculptures were moved into storage.<ref name="The New York Times 1944 n913">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Museum officials took these pieces out of storage in May 1945 and restored them; other artworks in the house were rearranged and cleaned as well.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick acquired another townhouse at 7 East 70th Street in 1947<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and replaced it with a service wing.<ref name="nyt-1973-06-15" /> By the late 1940s, the museum had cumulatively spent about $2.9 million in acquisitions since Frick's death.<ref name="The New York Times 1948 c929">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> When John D. Rockefeller Jr. offered to donate several pieces of artwork in 1948, Helen Frick objected, arguing that the museum only accepted gifts from Frick family members.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> In the lawsuit that followed, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the terms of Frick's will did not prevent the museum from accepting external gifts;<ref name="The New York Times 1948 r487">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> the court's Appellate Division upheld this ruling.<ref name="The New York Times 1949 c422">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> Rockefeller, who had been on the board of trustees, resigned amid the dispute.<ref name="Maeder 1999" />

Clapp resigned in 1951 and was replaced by the museum's assistant director Franklin M. Biebel.<ref name="The New York Times 1951 o611">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> Biebel established a decorative-arts conservation program, and the number of annual visitors nearly doubled under his tenure.<ref name="nyt-1966-09-24">Template:Cite news</ref> The museum's collection remained largely unchanged over the next several years, as Helen Frick opposed any expansions, saying that her father would not have wanted items to be added.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Helen resigned from the museum's board of trustees in 1961,<ref name="Sheets g765">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1961 c155" /> after the board finally voted to accept Rockefeller's gift.<ref name="The New York Times 1961 c155">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> Assistant director Harry D. M. Grier replaced Biebel, becoming the museum's third director in 1964.<ref name="The New York Times 1964 n066">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By the mid-1960s, the Frick had 160 portraits, 80 sculptures, and various other items in its collection. The Frick was open six days a week (except in August, when it was closed) and was still free to enter.<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1963">Template:Cite news</ref> The collection was small compared to that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which at the time had 365,000 items.<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1963" /> Edgar Munhall was hired as the museum's first chief curator in 1965, a position he would hold for thirty-five years.<ref name="Roberts 2016 t791">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As part of a master plan in 1967,<ref name="Iovine 2014">Template:Cite news</ref> the Frick's trustees drew up plans for an annex at 7 and 9 East 70th Street.<ref name="nyt-2014-11-142">Template:Cite news</ref>

1970s to 1990s

File:Frick Collection New York entrée.jpg

Entrance to the Frick Collection

By the early 1970s, the museum recorded about 800 daily visitors<ref name="Glueck 1970 o477">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and employed 75 staff members.<ref name="Glueck 1970 o477" /><ref name="Nadel 1970" /> The next year, the museum began asking visitors to pay an optional admission fee due to rising taxes and expenses.<ref name="nyt-1971-07-07">Template:Cite news</ref> After Grier was killed in a traffic accident in 1972,<ref name="nyt-1972-06-01">Template:Cite news</ref> Everett Fahy was appointed as the museum's fourth director in 1973.<ref name="The New York Times 1973 a419">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The museum announced plans to construct an annex at 5–9 East 70th Street.<ref name="nyt-1973-11-28">Template:Cite news</ref> After the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) expressed concerns over the fact that the expansion would require the demolition of the Widener House at 5 East 70th Street,<ref name="nyt-1973-03-15">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> the museum announced a plan for a "temporary garden" on the 70th Street lots, which the LPC approved.<ref name="The New York Times 1973 q840">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> The original annex was canceled that November,<ref name="nyt-1973-11-28" /> and Frick officials subsequently decided to build a one-story wing on the Widener House's site.<ref name="nyt-1974-05-17">Template:Cite news</ref> The annex had been proposed because, at the time, the mansion could accommodate only 250 people at once.<ref name="Wallach 1977">Template:Cite news</ref>

Under Fahy's tenure, the museum began hosting more temporary exhibits, which it had seldom held before Fahy took over.<ref name="Newsday 1979">Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick began charging admission for the first time in 1976.<ref name="Goldberger 1977 i035">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The annex was completed the next year, along with a garden,<ref name="Wallach 1977" /><ref name="Goldberger 1977 i035" /> designed by British landscape architect Russell Page.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick renovated the Boucher Room and cleaned and rearranged its paintings during the following decade.<ref name="The New York Times 1981 s585">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By the mid-1980s, the museum displayed 169 works of art,<ref name="wp-1988-08-14" /><ref name="Mays 1985">Template:Cite news</ref> and the galleries occupied 16 rooms.<ref name="wp-1988-08-14">Template:Cite news</ref> The museum periodically hosted chamber music performances in the Frick House's courtyard.<ref name="Ulmanis 1985">Template:Cite news</ref> It was relatively low-profile compared to others in New York City, only sporadically expanding its collection and hosting small temporary exhibitions.<ref name="nyt-1987-01-09">Template:Cite news</ref> After Helen Frick died in 1984, the museum took over responsibility for the Frick Art Research Library;<ref name="nyt-1987-01-09" /> initially, the library had no endowment as Helen had not provided anything for the library in her will.<ref name="nyt-1993-03-21">Template:Cite news</ref> Ceiling lights were installed in the Fragonard and Boucher rooms in the 1980s.<ref name="Italian Voice 2010">Template:Cite news</ref>

Charles Ryskamp, the former director of the Pierpont Morgan Library, was appointed as the Frick's fifth director in December 1986 after Fahy's resignation,<ref name="nyt-1986-12-19">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> though he did not assume that position for another six months.<ref name="nyt-1987-01-09" /> Under Ryskamp's directorship, some of the paintings were rearranged or brought out of storage.<ref name="Deitz 1988 l181">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By the 1990s, the art reference library was low on funds;<ref name="The New York Times 1990 q695" /> the library had a $25 million endowment by 1993,<ref name="nyt-1993-03-21" /> and the Frick began charging "frequent commercial users" of the library that year.<ref name="Vogel 1993 y129">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Through the 1990s, the Frick banned all children under the age of 10, as well as unaccompanied minors between ages 10 and 15,<ref name="nyt-1993-12-04" /><ref name="Wasserman 1994">Template:Cite news</ref> and the museum also did not have a café.<ref name="Asimov 1992 j113">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The New York City government passed a law banning public institutions from discriminating by age in 1993, which would have forced the museum to start admitting children.<ref name="nyt-1993-12-04" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Museum officials requested a waiver, saying that they would have to install barriers if children were allowed,<ref name="nyt-1993-12-04">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Wasserman 1994" /> and they received such a waiver in 1995.<ref name="ChildPolicy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, further lighting upgrades were made in the mid-1990s.<ref name="Italian Voice 2010" />

Ryskamp announced his retirement in 1997.<ref name="Abbe 1997">Template:Cite news</ref> After Samuel Sachs II was named as the museum's sixth director that May,<ref name="Abbe 1997" /><ref name="Vogel 1997 t186">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the trustees tasked him with raising funds.<ref name="nyt-2006-03-29">Template:Cite news</ref> Under Sachs's directorship, the museum launched a website in the 1990s,<ref name="Vogel 1998" /> and replaced the lighting and hosted additional special exhibitions.<ref name="Mandell 1998">Template:Cite news</ref> Sachs also contemplated expanding the exhibition space, adding a café, and relocating the entrance to the house's garden.<ref name="Vogel 1998" /> In addition, the museum began providing complimentary audio guides for the mansion and artworks<ref name="Andre 1999" /><ref name="Vikan 1998">Template:Cite news</ref> and, in the early 21st century, added the Bloomberg Connects smartphone app.<ref name="Eisenpress 2022 u963">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Museum officials also began allowing parties to be hosted in the Frick House.<ref name="Hamilton 2008 k678">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A group named Friends of the Fellows of the Frick Collection was formed to raise interest in the museum.<ref name="The New York Times 1999 b612">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2000s and 2010s

Colin Bailey was appointed as chief curator in 2000 after Munhall resigned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the late 1990s, the Helen Clay Frick Foundation proposed moving its archives in Pittsburgh to the Frick Collection's archives, prompting an intra-family debate over whether the collections should be merged.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The foundation's collection ultimately was split between the two cities in 2001, and most of the objects were sent to New York City.<ref name="The Associated Press 2001 o074">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> After attendance dropped following the September 11 attacks that year, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provided $270,000, in part to fund extended hours on Fridays.<ref name="Vogel 2002 g289">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sachs announced in January 2003 that he would resign as the museum's director in eight months,<ref name="Vogel 2003 x936">Template:Cite news</ref> as the board of trustees had not renewed his contract.<ref name="nyt-2006-03-29" /> At the time of Sachs's resignation, the museum recorded 350,000 annual visitors, 20 percent more than in 1997,<ref name="Vogel 2003 x936" /> but it was running at a $1 million annual deficit.<ref name="Eakin 2005 g552">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Annexes to the museum were proposed in 2001, 2005, and 2008,<ref name="Pogrebin 2014a">Template:Cite news</ref> but all of these plans were canceled because it would have required an extended closure of the museum and still would not have provided sufficient space.<ref name="wsj-2014-12-12" />

The art scholar Anne L. Poulet was hired in August 2003 as the Frick's first female director,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and the museum was reorganized as a tax-exempt public charity shortly after Poulet became the director.<ref name="Eakin 2005 g552" /> Under Poulet's tenure, she replaced lighting in several galleries<ref name="Eakin 2005 g552" /><ref name="Landi 2010" /> and rearranged some of the pieces.<ref name="Eakin 2005 g552" /> She also raised $55 million for renovations;<ref name="Landi 2010">Template:Cite news</ref> the museum's facilities had become dated, and the basement exhibition space was no longer sufficient.<ref name="Eakin 2005 g552" /> Because of the Frick's classification as a charity, the museum had to raise a third of its budget from donations.<ref name="nyt-2006-03-29" /> The Frick created programs to attract major donors and art collectors,<ref name="nyt-2006-03-29" /><ref name="Landi 2010" /> and it began charging admission fees for concerts in 2005.<ref name="Wakin 2005 u459">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Mattison 2005 n731" /> During the 2000s decade, the Frick did not acquire many additional items.<ref name="Landi 2010" /> In contrast to larger museums, it generally hosted small, detailed exhibits,<ref name="Landi 2010" /> though the number of short-term exhibitions at the Frick increased during the decade.<ref name="Smith 2008 a143">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Further restorations of the museum's galleries took place through the late 2000s to attract visitors.<ref name="Smith 2010 q026">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Frick Museum garden seen through gated fence.jpg

A plan to expand the museum in 2014 failed because of opposition to demolishing the 70th Street garden (pictured).

Poulet announced her retirement in September 2010,<ref name="nyt-2010-09-22">Template:Cite news</ref> and Ian Wardropper was hired as the museum's director in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> A sculpture gallery, designed by Davis Brody Bond, opened at the Frick House in December 2011, becoming the first new gallery at the museum in three decades.<ref name="Russeth 2011 z988">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Kahn 2011 o326">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bailey resigned as the chief curator in 2013,<ref name="Finkel 2014 j172">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Xavier F. Salomon was hired as the chief curator the same year.<ref name="Duray 2013 j462">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the 2010s, the Frick began raising $290 million for its renovation.<ref name="Tremayne-Pengelly 2023 m400">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Pogrebin 2024 m400">Template:Cite news</ref> The collection had reached more than 1,100 works by the mid-2010s.<ref name="Pitz 2014">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Pogrebin 2014a" /><ref name="wsj-2014-12-12">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn In addition, the museum was hosting an average of five temporary exhibits per year.<ref name="wsj-2014-12-12" /> The Frick House's facilities were not adequate for the museum's modern needs. For example, paintings had to be carried into the museum through the house's front door, and portraits had to be placed in storage whenever the Frick hosted a visiting show.<ref name="Iovine 2014" /> The concerts at the museum sometimes sold out as well.<ref name="wsj-2014-12-12" />

In 2014, the museum announced plans for a six-story annex on 70th Street designed by Davis Brody Bond.<ref name="Pogrebin 2014a" /><ref name="Pitz 2014" /> Russell Page's garden on 70th Street would have been demolished to make way for the annex; this prompted opposition from residents and preservationists,<ref name="Goodman 2015 f781">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Pogrebin 2014">Template:Cite news</ref> and the Frick announced in June 2015 that it would draw up new designs.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> To attract younger visitors, the museum began hosting free events in the mid-2010s,<ref name="wsj-2017-08-25">Template:Cite news</ref> such as First Fridays.<ref name="Kennedy 2016 x124" /> The Frick hired Annabelle Selldorf to design a revised expansion plan for the museum, which was announced in April 2018;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Davidson 2018 s615">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the LPC approved Selldorf's plans that June.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick then sought to relocate to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum temporarily, but the Guggenheim was available for only four months.<ref name="Farago">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By September 2018, the Frick was negotiating to take over the Whitney Museum's space at 945 Madison Avenue;<ref name="Gibson 2018 a192">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> the Frick finalized a two-year lease for that building in 2020.<ref name="Pogrebin 2020 s105">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2020s to present

File:6 16 2021 Frick old Whitney building 945 Madison Avenue NYC.jpg

The Frick moved to 945 Madison Avenue between 2021 and 2024.

The Frick closed in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Kenney 2020 j291" /> the opening of the temporary location was delayed due to the pandemic.<ref name="nyt-2021-02-09">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Kenney 2020 j291">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The museum's collection was moved to 945 Madison Avenue, which reopened as the Frick Madison in March 2021.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Frick Madison housed the museum's old masters collection, including 104 paintings, along with sculptures, vases, and clocks.<ref name="Farago" /> Most of the 1,500-piece collection of artwork was placed in storage at 945 Madison Avenue,<ref name="Raskin2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and about 300 works were placed on display.<ref name="Raskin2" /><ref name="Tarmy 2021 h167">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At the Frick Madison, the artwork was exhibited against stark dark gray walls, in contrast to the Frick House's ornate decoration;<ref name="Raskin2" /><ref name="Farago" /> the paintings were also grouped according to their age and region of origin.<ref name="Whittle 2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="U.S. News Travel 1970 z428">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref name=wsj-2021-03-10>Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick Madison also included a café.<ref name="Senzamici 2023 u798">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The museum had raised $242 million for its capital campaign by the end of 2023.<ref name="Tremayne-Pengelly 2023 m400" /><ref name="Pogrebin 2024 m400" /> Wardropper announced in January 2024 that he would resign the following year, after the Frick House's renovation was complete.<ref name="Pogrebin 2024 m400" /><ref name="Goukassian 2024 r874">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick Madison closed on March 3, 2024.<ref name="Sutton 2023 h471">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Senzamici 2023 d020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Henry Clay Frick House and Frick Art Research Library were originally expected to reopen in late 2024,<ref name="Sutton 2023 h471" /><ref name="Clark 2024 f963">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but this was pushed back.<ref name="Pogrebin t735">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Higgins 2025">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some existing exhibition spaces were rearranged as well,<ref name="Sheets g765" /><ref name="nyt-2025-03-20">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p3188104144">Template:Cite news</ref> and a 60-seat restaurant was added to the first floor.<ref name="Higgins 2025" /> In September 2024, the Frick hired Axel Rüger, the head of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, to serve as the museum's director beginning in 2025.<ref name="Pogrebin k368">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Frick Collection reopened on April 17, 2025.<ref name="Kleinbub p601">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Collection

The Frick has a collection of old master paintings and furniture housed in 19 galleries of varying size within the former residence.<ref name="Vogel 1998">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Frick ultimately acquired a variety of European paintings,<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1931a" /><ref name="Current Opinion 1920">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Renaissance bronzes,<ref name="The New York Times 1933 s798" /> French clocks,<ref name="New York Daily News 1982">Template:Cite news</ref> and a set of porcelains.<ref name="Current Opinion 1920" /> Toward the end of Frick's life, he focused on porcelains, sculptures, and furniture.<ref name="Bailey pp. 81–82">Template:Harvnb</ref> Although Frick made over a thousand acquisitions over his lifetime, he resold most of the things he bought.<ref name="Nadel 1970">Template:Cite news</ref> The original collection contained 635 pieces of art or decorations when Frick died.<ref name="Pitz 2014" /> When the museum opened, it displayed 136<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1935" /> or about 200 paintings in addition to porcelains, enamels, and bronzes.<ref name="Rhodenbaugh 1935" /> There were also 80 sculptures on display.<ref name="Sherburne 1936" />

Helen Clay Frick and the board of trustees expanded the collection after his death; in 2006, the New York Times estimated that about 30 percent of the collection had been acquired after Frick died.<ref name="nyt-2006-03-29" /> Nonetheless, until 1948, the museum accepted donations of art only from Frick family members.<ref name="The New York Times 1948 c929" /> The museum can lend works acquired after Frick's death, but not works that he owned in his lifetime;<ref name="Vogel 1998" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Esplund 2010">Template:Cite news</ref> this restriction has prevented works from appearing in other museums' exhibitions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick is also prohibited from selling items in its collection and seldom acquires new works. Some of the works are normally not visible to the public but can be displayed as necessary.<ref name="The New York Times 1990 j258">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Frick has sometimes borrowed paintings for long periods, including a portrait of Cosimo de' Medici that was displayed in the museum from 1970 to 1989.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Purchases of new art were funded by the museum's endowment until 2016, when the museum's trustees established an acquisitions fund.<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 z169">Template:Cite press release</ref>

Template:As of, the museum has 1,800 pieces in its collection, including both paintings and other objects.<ref name="nyt-2025-04-24">Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to the museum's 2020s renovation, it normally displayed 470 objects,<ref name="Tarmy 2021 h167" /> which were exhibited in 15 galleries.<ref name="James Watkinson 2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> An additional 10 galleries were built during the 2020s.<ref name="Sheets g765" /><ref name="nyt-2025-03-20" /> Among the objects displayed in the expanded galleries are clocks and watches, in addition to portrait medals.<ref name="p3188104144" /><ref name="nyt-2025-03-20" />

Visual arts collection

Frick's collection initially consisted of salon pieces and works by Barbizon School artists,<ref name="Chapin 1971" /><ref name="Boston Daily Globe 1919" /><ref name="nyt-2025-04-24" /> and he bought 90 paintings from Charles Carstairs between 1895 and 1900 alone.<ref name="Bailey p. 13" /> He had begun to acquire other types of paintings by the end of the 19th century,<ref name="Chapin 1971" /><ref name="Boston Daily Globe 1919" /> and his acquisitions during the 1900s were increasingly composed of Old Master artworks.<ref name="Gray 2010 q262" /><ref name="nyt-2025-04-24" /><ref name="Bailey p. 15">Template:Harvnb</ref> By the early 1910s, his collection consisted largely of English and Dutch paintings, with scattered French and Spanish paintings; a magazine article from that time described him as having relatively little interest in Italian Renaissance work.<ref name="Town & Country 1912">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The paintings ranged from the 14th to 19th centuries,<ref name="Glueck 1987 z050">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and many of the paintings depicted women.<ref name="Charleston Daily Mail 2010" /> There were some chronological gaps in the original collection: for example, there were no 17th-century French paintings when the museum opened, even as the museum had both older and newer French paintings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Aside from one painting by Giovanni Bellini, Frick did not buy religious works or nudes.<ref name="nyt-2025-04-24" />

When Frick died, he was variously cited as having collected 103,<ref name="Current Opinion 1920" /> 137,<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 l846">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "about 140",<ref name="Boston Daily Globe 1919" /> or 250 paintings.<ref name="Shaw 2007" /> Some of the original paintings in Frick's personal collection were discovered to be forgeries after his death,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while other paintings were found to be misattributed.<ref name="nyt-1986-12-07">Template:Cite news</ref> Artists with works in the museum's collection have included:Template:Div col

• Giovanni Bellini<ref name="FC p. 7">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Smee 2021 s859">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref>
• François Boucher<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Agnolo Bronzino<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref name="FC p. 19">Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Cimabue<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• John Constable<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Aelbert Cuyp<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Jacques-Louis David<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Gerard David<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Jean-Honoré Fragonard<ref name=Schjeldahl /><ref name="The Frick Collection pp. 51–58">Template:Harvnb</ref>
• El Greco<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" />
• Gentile da Fabriano<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Thomas Gainsborough<ref name="nyt-1931-10-18">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Francisco Goya<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Frans Hals<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Meindert Hobbema<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• William Hogarth<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Hans Holbein the Younger<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref name="FC pp. 87–88">Template:Harvnb</ref>
• John Hoppner<ref name="nyt-1931-10-18" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Thomas Lawrence<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Jean-François Millet<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Bartolomé Esteban Murillo<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Jean-Marc Nattier<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Henry Raeburn<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Rembrandt<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref name="FC p. 121">Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Joshua Reynolds<ref name="nyt-1931-10-18" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• George Romney<ref name="nyt-1931-10-18" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Titian<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref name="FC pp. 140–141">Template:Harvnb</ref>
• J. M. W. Turner<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Johannes Vermeer<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Paolo Veronese<ref name="nyt-1931-10-18" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Diego Velázquez<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref name="FC p. 156" />
• Anthony Van Dyck<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" />
• Jan van Eyck<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• Jacob van Ruisdael<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
• James McNeill Whistler<ref name="The New York Times 1931 b052" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Several artists, including Holbein, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Turner, Gainsborough, Van Dyck, Fragonard, and Boucher, painted multiple pieces that are in the collection.<ref name="Glueck 1987 z050" /> Included in the modern collection are Fragonard's The Progress of Love,<ref name=Schjeldahl>Template:Cite magazine</ref> three Vermeer paintings including Mistress and Maid, two van Ruisdael paintings including Quay at Amsterdam,<ref name="frick">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> El Greco's Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple,<ref name="Wolff 1983" /> Titian's Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap,<ref name="FC p. 140">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Wolff 1983">Template:Cite news</ref> one of Rembrandt's self-portraits,<ref name="Mays 1985" /><ref name="nyt-2011-02-18">Template:Cite news</ref> and della Francesca's St. John the Evangelist.<ref name="Lambert 1999" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Notable works in the original collection

Some of the earliest works in Frick's collection were portraits of his family, created for his Pittsburgh residence. At the beginning of the 20th century, Frick bought works such as Rembrandt's Portrait of a Young Artist<ref name="Bailey p. 15" /><ref name="Feigenbaum van Ginhoven Sterrett 2024 p. 335">Template:Harvnb</ref> (possibly the first Old Master painting in the collection<ref name="Saltzman 2008 p. 162">Template:Harvnb</ref>), Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's Ville d'Avray,<ref name="Feigenbaum van Ginhoven Sterrett 2024 p. 335" /> Constant Troyon's A Pasture in Normandy,<ref name="Feigenbaum van Ginhoven Sterrett 2024 p. 335" /> and Vermeer's Girl Interrupted at Her Music.<ref name="Bailey p. 15" /> From 1905 to 1915, Frick also acquired paintings such as Hals's Portrait of a Woman,<ref name="nyt-1910-04-17">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Velázquez's Portrait of Philip IV in Fraga,<ref name="Current Opinion 1920" /><ref name="nyt-1911-03-01">Template:Cite news</ref> Rembrandt's A Dutch Merchant,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and Rembrandt's The Polish Rider.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After Frick had finished his own mansion, he brought over several paintings of his firstborn daughter Martha, who had died in her childhood.<ref name="Skrabec 2014 p. 210"/> He also obtained 14 Fragonard panels from the collection of J. P. Morgan<ref name="Bailey p. 70">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1915-02-25">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and moved the panels to his house's drawing room.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Philpott 1915">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of the house's completion, he owned paintings by such artists as El Greco, Goya, Hals, Rembrandt, Romney, Titian, Anthony van Dyck, and Velázquez.<ref name="Philpott 1915" /><ref name="nyt-1917-05-13">Template:Cite news</ref> In the late 1910s, Frick acquired additional pieces from outside the Morgan collection, such as Hans Holbein's portrait of Thomas Cromwell,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Rubens's Portrait of the Marquis Ambrose de Spinola,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Rembrandt's An Old Woman Reflecting Over the Lecture,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and Gainsborough's Mall between 1915 and 1916 alone.<ref name="nyt-1916-03-15">Template:Cite news</ref> He also bought four Boucher panels,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> although he turned down the opportunity to buy additional panels.<ref name="Bailey p. 83">Template:Harvnb</ref> From 1917 through 1919, Frick obtained several pieces of Boucher tapestry furniture,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Van Dyck's Countess of Clanbrazil,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Hals's Portrait of a Man,<ref name="Bailey p. 91">Template:Harvnb</ref> Vermeer's Mistress and Maid,<ref name="Bailey p. 91" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington.<ref name="Current Opinion 1920" /><ref name="nyt-1919-03-22">Template:Cite news</ref>

Notable acquisitions after Frick's death

In the half-century after Frick died, thirty objects were added to the original collection.<ref name="Glueck 1970 o477" /> After Frick's death but before the opening of the current museum, the Frick estate's trustees bought the Portrait of Comtesse d'Haussonville by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres,<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1927">Template:Cite news; Template:Harvnb</ref> as well as a painting by Duccio and the Coronation of the Virgin by Paolo Veneziano.<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1931" /> The Giuseppe Bastiani painting Adoration of Magi was acquired in 1935.<ref name="Dobrzynski 1998 j766" /> Works by Cimabue, Duccio, della Francesca, and Filippo Lippi entered the museum's collection for the first time between 1924 and 1950.<ref name="Bailey p. 111">Template:Harvnb</ref> Shortly after the museum opened, it acquired items such as a Renaissance-era panel by della Francesca,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> a portrait that Boucher painted of his wife,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Jacques-Louis David's painting of a French noblewoman,<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1937" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Monet's Vétheuil in Winter,<ref name="Bailey p. 111" /> and a Paul Cézanne landscape.<ref name="The New York Times 1938 e530">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> This was followed in the 1950s by three Italian Renaissance paintings,<ref name="The New York Times 1951 c005">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> David's portrait of Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni,<ref name="The New York Times 1952 y962">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Jan van Eyck's Virgin and Child, with Saints and Donor.<ref name="The New York Times 1954 i315">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> The collection had only one 17th-century French work until the 1960s, when the museum obtained Claude Lorrain's painting of the Sermon on the Mount;<ref name="The New York Times 1961 q415">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the museum also obtained della Francesca's Crucifixion during that decade.<ref name="The New York Times 1961 c155" />

The Frick did not acquire anything between Template:Circa and 1991, when the museum obtained its first Jean-Antoine Watteau painting, Portal of Valenciennes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The museum's other acquisitions in the 1990s and 2000s included one of Corot's oil sketches,<ref name="Kimmelman 1994 u755">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> two of Jean-Baptiste Greuze's portraits,<ref name="The New York Times 1996 r319">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Gabriel de Saint-Aubin's The Private Academy.<ref name="Vogel 2008 g450">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After former director Ryskamp died in 2010, he bequeathed some of his collection to the Frick.<ref name="Vogel 2011 x566">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The museum's other acquisitions in the 2010s included a self-portrait by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo that had been owned by Henry Clay Frick's grandson.<ref name="nyt-2014-11-27">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2023, the Frick obtained Giovanni Battista Moroni's painting Portrait of a Lady, the first Renaissance-era portrait of a woman in the collection.<ref name="Magazine Feldman 2023 z424">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref>

Other objects

The modern-day museum's collection includes numerous works of sculpture and porcelain,<ref name="Andre 1999" /><ref name="FC: About" /> in addition to 18th-century French furniture, Limoges enamel, and Oriental rugs.<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1963" /><ref name="Ulmanis 1985" /><ref name="Andre 1999" /> The objects in the collection include 18th-century tapestries that belonged to Louis XV and Louis XVI of France.<ref name="The New York Times 2001 o145">Template:Cite news</ref>

Frick had acquired some objects from the J. P. Morgan estate specifically to complement the visual art in his collection.<ref name="Charleston Daily Mail 2010" /> Some of these acquisitions included 18th-century French sculptures and furniture,<ref name="Bailey p. 76" /> a hawthorn beaker,<ref name="nyt-1915-04-06">Template:Cite news</ref> and Chinese porcelains.<ref name="nyt-1915-02-26">Template:Cite news</ref> In one case, Frick paid $1.5 million for some of Morgan's 44 enamels and 225 bronzes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also acquired 40 Limoges enamels from Morgan's collection in 1919,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> one of the last things he would personally purchase.<ref name="Bailey p. 91" /> Outside of the Morgan collection, Frick also bought the bronzes Bust of a Jurist by Danese Cattaneo, Antonio Galli by Federico Brandani, and Duke of Alba by Jacques Jonghelinck. Although Frick had planned a sculpture gallery to his home in the late 1910s, the lack of other statuary caused him to cancel the plan.<ref name="Bailey pp. 87–88">Template:Harvnb</ref> Duveen displayed numerous marble busts in the Frick House while Frick decided whether to buy them.<ref name="Bailey p. 91" /> Some of the furniture also came from Duveen.<ref name="nyt-2025-04-24" />

A bust of Henry Clay Frick by Malvina Hoffman was gifted to the museum when it opened in 1935.<ref name="Sanger Garrett 2001 p.">Template:Harvnb</ref> Other acquisitions of sculpture in the mid-20th century included a Diana bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon,<ref name="The New York Times 1939 r0772">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> a 15th-century bronze figure of an angel,<ref name="The New York Times 1944 n913" /> and a pair of 15th-century Italian marble busts.<ref name="The New York Times 1961 c155" /> In the 1990s and 2000s, the Frick received Winthrop Edey's collection of timekeeping pieces,<ref name="Vogel 2006 p690">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a 19th-century terracotta bust by Joseph Chinard,<ref name="Vogel 2004 j029">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a marble bust by Houdon;<ref name="Vogel 2006 p690" /> a bust by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi,<ref name="Vogel 2006 z323">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a clock.<ref name="Vogel 2006 p690" /><ref name="Landi 2010" /> Acquisitions since the 2010s have included 131 Meissen porcelains,<ref name="Vogel 2011 b031">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as 28 objects from collector Alexis Gregory (including rare clocks and enamels).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Selected works

{{#invoke:Gallery|gallery}} {{#invoke:Gallery|gallery}}

Programming and events

Temporary exhibits

The Frick Collection has historically hosted temporary exhibitions less frequently than similar museums.<ref name="Newsday 1979" /><ref name="Landi 2010" /> It initially focused almost exclusively on its permanent collection,<ref name="Weinshenker 1984" /> with one temporary exhibit a year during the 1960s.<ref name="wsj-2014-12-12" /> Since 1972, the Frick has sometimes hosted small exhibitions on narrowly defined topics;<ref name="Weinshenker 1984">Template:Cite magazine</ref> in some cases, exhibitions have consisted of a single painting.<ref name="Mandell 1998" /> By the 2010s, the museum hosted five exhibits a year on average,<ref name="wsj-2014-12-12" /> and exhibitions were scheduled several years in advance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Late 20th century

Temporary exhibitions in the 1970s included an exhibit in honor of the museum's late director Harry D. M. Grier,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> bronzes by Severo Calzetta da Ravenna,<ref name="nyt-1978-06-30">Template:Cite news</ref> and drawings by Fragonard.<ref name="Newsday 1979" /> Topics of temporary exhibitions during the 1980s included busts by Houdon,<ref name="The New York Times 1981 m716">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> French clocks,<ref name="New York Daily News 1982" /> terracotta sculptures by Clodion,<ref name="Weinshenker 1984" /> drawings by Ingres,<ref name="nyt-1986-05-25">Template:Cite news</ref> Henry Clay Frick's earliest acquisitions,<ref name="The New York Times 1988 v351">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Old Master paintings.<ref name="Kimmelman 1989 j820">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Especially in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the museum has hosted temporary exhibitions about singular artworks or artists.<ref name="Esplund 2010" /> Among the items exhibited in the 1990s were works by French painter Nicolas Lancret,<ref name="Kimmelman 1991 y866">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> watercolors from the Rijksmuseum,<ref name="Cotter 1993 l669">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> eighteenth- and nineteenth-century drawings from the Stanford Museum,<ref name="The New York Times 1995 q508">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a single Claude Monet painting,<ref name="Mandell 1998" /> drawings by German artists,<ref name="The New York Times 1998 l381">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and drawings by French artists.<ref name="The New York Times 1999 t302">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1999, several items in the permanent collection were taken out of storage specifically to complement an exhibition of Ingres's Portrait of Comtesse d'Haussonville.<ref name="Vogel 1999 z151">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref>

21st century

In the early 2000s, the topics of the Frick's exhibitions included drawings in the collection of the Albertina museum,<ref name="New York Daily News 2000 p722">Template:Cite news</ref> paintings from John Hay Whitney's collection,<ref name="The New York Times 2000 m277">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> El Greco paintings,<ref name="Smith 2001 v885">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> antique clocks,<ref name="nyt-2001-12-21">Template:Cite news</ref> pieces from the Toledo Museum of Art's collection,<ref name="Glueck 2002 x597">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a set of Parmigianino paintings,<ref name="Kimmelman 2004 j952">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and three consecutive exhibits of antique bronzes.<ref name="Glueck 2005 u981">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later in the decade, the temporary exhibitions included portraits by Hans Memling,<ref name="Vogel 2005 l984">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> paintings by Paolo Veronese,<ref name="Vogel 2006 p540">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a show of French art,<ref name="Vogel 2005 u839">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Frick's first Meissen porcelain show,<ref name="Vogel 2007 b958">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> pieces from the Norton Simon Museum's collection,<ref name="Rosenberg 2009 r879">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a single painting by Parmigianino.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Frick hosted various exhibits in honor of its 75th anniversary in 2010,<ref name="Kennedy 2010 a225">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including an exhibition on its own founding.<ref name="Gray 2010 q262" /> Other early-2010s exhibits included works from the Dulwich Picture Gallery,<ref name="Esplund 2010" /> works from the Courtauld Gallery,<ref name="Rosenberg 2012 f061">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Picasso drawings,<ref name="Smith 2011 g968">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Renoir paintings,<ref name="Rosenberg 2012 n823">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Piero della Francesca panels,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and a historical overview of St. Francis in the Desert.<ref name="Vogel 2011 p098">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

After some works from the Mauritshuis in The Hague were displayed at the Frick in 2013,<ref name="Kennedy 2013 r238">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Frick displayed several paintings at the Mauritshuis in 2015,<ref name="Brown 2015 v351">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> marking the first time that the Frick lent paintings to a European museum.<ref name="nyt-2014-02-13">Template:Cite news</ref> During the mid- and late 2010s, the subjects of the Frick's exhibits included paintings from the Scottish National Gallery's collection,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> paintings from the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> works by Andrea del Sarto,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> objects by Pierre Gouthière,<ref name="nyt-2016-12-22">Template:Cite news</ref> and canvases by J. M. W. Turner.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When the Frick moved to 945 Madison Avenue in the early 2020s, its exhibits included a showcase of Barkley Hendricks paintings (the museum's first exhibit of a black artist's art)<ref name="Elujoba 2023 q652">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a pair of paintings by Giovanni Bellini and Giorgio da Castelfranco.<ref name="Gopnik 2023 q946">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other programs

The museum hosts special events,<ref name="Sozanski 2003">Template:Cite news</ref> such as academic symposiums, concerts, and classes.<ref name="James Watkinson 2021" /> The educational programs are led by Rika Burnham, who became head of the museum's education department in 2008.<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 d574">Template:Cite press release</ref> The Frick's educational programs include online visits for students at secondary schools and postsecondary institutions,<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 a459">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as courses where a single piece is discussed at length.<ref name="Marius 2021 e507">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Frick also has partnerships with local educational partnerships such as the Ghetto Film School.<ref name="Weisblum 2016 c037">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> Docents began hosting lectures in galleries in 2010,<ref name="Charleston Daily Mail 2010" /> and the museum launched a mobile app in 2014, allowing visitors to bookmark artworks in the museum's collection.<ref name="Miller 2014 n420">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the Frick closed for renovation, museum officials launched several digital programs, including drawing classes and discussions about artwork.<ref name="Terry 2024 a736">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Every year since 2000, the Frick hosts the Young Fellows Ball, a springtime gala for philanthropists who are largely under age 40.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The museum also started hosting an annual Garden Party in 2008;<ref name="Akers 2010 d520">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Heyman 2012">Template:Cite news</ref> the event, which began as a members-only gathering, evolved into an annual fundraiser.<ref name="Heyman 2012" /> In 2016, the Frick introduced First Fridays, in which patrons could visit the museum for free on the first Friday of every month.<ref name="Kennedy 2016 x124">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> First Fridays include gallery talks and activities for visitors.<ref name="Kennedy 2016 x124" />

The Concerts from the Frick Collection series was launched in 1938<ref name="Bailey p. 109" /><ref name="Beegle 2017 c056">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and has continued through the 20th and 21st centuries.<ref name="WQXR 2017 h110">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Italian Voice 2015">Template:Cite news</ref> Musicians who have performed at the Frick Collection have included Ian Bostridge, Matthias Goerne, Guarneri String Quartet, Wanda Landowska, Gregor Piatigorsky, Artur Schnabel, and Kiri Te Kanawa.<ref name="Wakin 2005 u459" /><ref name="Beegle 2017 c056" /> The concerts were broadcast on radio starting in 1939, first on the Municipal Broadcasting System, then on American Public Radio and WNYC.<ref name="Italian Voice 2015" /> Although visitors originally could listen to the concerts free of charge (even after the museum started charging an admission fee), a separate admission charge for concerts was instituted in 2005.<ref name="Wakin 2005 u459" /><ref name="Mattison 2005 n731">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Prior to the 2020s renovation, the concerts were hosted in the Frick House's music room.<ref name="nyt-2018-06-29">Template:Cite news</ref>

Publications

The collection is detailed in books such as Masterpieces of the Frick Collection, first published in 1970,<ref name="Nadel 1970" /><ref name="The New York Times 1970 p683">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Art in the Frick Collection, first published in 1996.<ref name="The New York Times 1997 l668">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The history of the collection was also detailed in Henry Clay Frick: An Intimate Portrait, a biography of Frick written by his great-granddaughter Martha Frick Symington Sanger in 1998.<ref name="Dobrzynski 1998 j766" /><ref name="Lambert 1999" /><ref name="Vikan 1998" /> Sanger's subsequent book The Henry Clay Frick House: Architecture-Interiors—Landscapes in the Golden Era, published in 2001, described the Frick House and its collection in detail.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2011, the Frick and the BNP Paribas Foundation published a guidebook on the collection, its history, and the Frick House.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick launched its Diptych series in 2017; the series consists of short books with essays that relate to paintings from the museum's collection.<ref name="nyt-2017-07-24">Template:Cite news</ref>

Building

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File:Frick collection.jpg

The Frick House, which contains the museum's collection

The museum is ordinarily located at the Henry Clay Frick House at 1 East 70th Street,<ref name="nycland" /><ref name="aia5">Template:Harvnb</ref> which is part of Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The house spans an entire blockfront on Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets.<ref name="nyt-2010-07-08">Template:Cite news</ref> The original structure from 1914 was designed by Thomas Hastings<ref name="Skrabec 2014 p. 210" /> in the Beaux-Arts style.<ref name="nyt-2014-07-30" /> The same style is also used for the 1970s reception wing,<ref name="nyt-2014-07-30">Template:Cite news</ref> designed by Harry Van Dyke, John Barrington Bayley, and G. Frederick Poehler.<ref name="Wallach 1977" /> Both structures have a facade of Indiana Limestone.<ref name="Morrone 2009 p. 299">Template:Harvnb</ref> The house has a lawn that is mostly closed to the public.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The interiors were designed by a variety of people. The British decorator Charles Allom furnished most of the rooms on the ground floor,<ref name="nysun1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Bailey p. 47">Template:Harvnb</ref> while the majority of the rooms on the second and third floors were decorated by Elsie de Wolfe.<ref name="Bailey p. 63">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="NPS pp. 18–19">Template:Harvnb</ref> Charles Carstairs and Joseph Duveen provided the original decorations for the rooms.<ref name="NPS p. 19">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Bailey pp. 70–73">Template:Harvnb</ref> Inside the house are the museum's galleries (adapted from the old living spaces of the mansion), as well as a courtyard with reflecting pool,<ref name="Jackson 1985">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Morrone 2009 p. 299" /> the latter of which is based on a Roman atrium.<ref name="Kugel 2008 n675">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some parts of the house have been modified over the years specifically to accommodate the artwork, including a room for the Fragonard panels.<ref name="nyt-1986-04-13">Template:Cite news</ref> In addition to the artwork and artifacts on display, there are bookcases placed throughout the Frick House's rooms,<ref name="Jackson 1985" /> and some rooms have various other pieces of furniture such as a dining table.<ref name="Glueck 1987 z050" />

Frick Art Research Library

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The Frick Collection oversees the Frick Art Research Library,<ref name="Ballard 2016 p. 37">Template:Harvnb</ref> which was established in 1920 and opened to researchers in June 1924.<ref name="Howell 1951 pp. 123–126">Template:Cite journal</ref> The library is housed at a 13-story building at 10 East 71st Street (next to the original mansion).<ref name="Howell 1951 pp. 123–126" /><ref name="Pitz 2014" /><ref name="Morais 2014">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Prior to the library building's opening, the basement bowling alley was used as storage space for the library's collection.<ref name="Shaw 2007" /><ref name="nyt-2000-10-15">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Morais 2014" /> The library has always been open to the public, except during World War II, when it was closed for six months,<ref name="Morais 2014" /> and during the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 renovation, when it was shuttered while being moved to the Frick Madison.<ref name="Kenney 2020 j291" /> The library is typically open free of charge to "any adult with a serious interest in art".<ref name="nyt-2000-10-15" /> In the late 20th century, the library served 6,000 people a year on average, most of whom made advance reservations or requests.<ref name="The New York Times 1990 q695" />

Helen Frick acted as director for six decades, during which time its collection expanded to include 50,000 sales catalogs, 400,000 photographs, and 150,000 books.<ref name="The New York Times 1984 n368">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By the 1990s, the library had an estimated 235,000 volumes,<ref name="The New York Times 1990 q695">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which grew to 280,000 by the late 2000s.<ref name="Shaw 2007" /> The collections of the library focus on art of the Western tradition from the fourth century to the mid-twentieth century, and chiefly include information about paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints, and illuminated manuscripts. Archival materials supplement its research collections.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick Art Research Library Photoarchive contains over a million photocopies of artwork, including objects that are not in the museum's collection.<ref name="Morais 2014" /><ref name="nyt-2017-03-142">Template:Cite news</ref>

The Frick has been part of the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC), which also includes the Museum of Modern Art and Brooklyn Museum, since 2007.<ref name="Pogrebin 2010 v119" /> NYARC operates Arcade, an online catalog that combines the collections of the three museums' libraries.<ref name="Pogrebin 2010 v119">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Center for the History of Collecting, also founded in 2007,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> is also part of the library.<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 z806">Template:Cite press release</ref> The Frick is a member of the International Consortium of Photo Archives (PHAROS), which operates a database of digitized artworks from the collections of 14 art museums.<ref name="nyt-2017-03-142" />

Management

The Frick Collection is operated by a nonprofit organization of the same name, which is dedicated to conserving the artworks in the museum's collection.<ref name="GuideStar Profile z310">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Axel Rüger was named the Frick's director in 2024,<ref name="Pogrebin k368"/> while Xavier F. Salomon is the chief curator.<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 a293">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The director's position has been known as the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director since 2020,<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 s329">Template:Cite press release</ref> while the chief curator's position is known as the Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator.<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 j773">Template:Cite press release</ref>

The museum's board of trustees originally comprised nine trustees<ref name="New York Herald Tribune 1931a" /> and was largely composed of Frick family members.<ref name="Landi 2010" /> The board was relatively small during the 20th century, with nine trustees until the 1990s<ref name="Vogel 1998" /> and eleven by 2003.<ref name="Sozanski 2003" /> Under Poulet's directorship, in the 2000s, the board was expanded by 10 members<ref name="nyt-2010-09-22" /> and was broadened to include more people from outside the Frick family.<ref name="nyt-2006-03-29" /><ref name="Landi 2010" /> Poulet also introduced the Director's Circle, a group of 44 members who each give a minimum of $25,000 a year to the Frick Collection.<ref name="Landi 2010" /><ref name="nyt-2010-09-22" />

Admission and attendance

After the museum opened in 1935, it accommodated 5,000 visitors in its first week<ref name="nyt-1935-12-22" /> and 100,000 visitors in six months; at its peak, the museum saw 1,600 visitors in one day.<ref name="nyt-1936-06-26">Template:Cite news</ref> At the end of 1936, the museum had seen 136,000 visitors, an average of 460 per day.<ref name="nyt-1937-01-31" /> In the 1970s, the museum recorded between 800<ref name="Glueck 1970 o477" /> and 1,500 daily visitors.<ref name="Wallach 1977" /> The number of annual visitors averaged 250,000 by the late 1990s,<ref name="Vogel 1997 t186" /> and annual attendance had increased to 350,000 by the early 2000s.<ref name="Vogel 2003 x936" /> The Frick Collection had a typical annual attendance of up to 300,000 in the 2010s,<ref name="Pogrebin 2024 m400" /><ref name="The Art Newspaper 2014 o261">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> although it recorded 420,000 visitors in 2013 due to a particularly popular exhibit there.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shows in the 2010s attracted upwards of 4,000 daily visitors.<ref name="Iovine 2014" />

The Frick was originally free to enter but has charged an admission fee since 1976.<ref name="Goldberger 1977 i035" /> The museum offers pay-as-you-wish hours one day of the week, in addition to free admission on First Fridays.<ref name="nyt-2017-06-01">Template:Cite news</ref> Free admission is also provided to members of the Frick; students and staff of certain universities in New York City; certain demographic groups such as youth, senior citizens, and people with disabilities; and other groups such as military personnel.<ref name="The Frick Collection 2020 m933">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Frick Collection members receive several membership benefits,<ref name="The Frick Collection Membership">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including a queue jump for exhibits.<ref name="nyt-2014-01-16">Template:Cite news</ref> As part of the Culture Pass program, persons with cards from New York City's public librariesTemplate:Efn could also visit the museum for free with a Culture Pass,<ref name="Weaver 2019 d236">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; Template:Cite news</ref> albeit with restrictions on the number of passes distributed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Until 2019, the Frick also sold the Connoisseur Pass,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which also provided admission to the Morgan Library & Museum and Neue Galerie New York.<ref name="Weaver 2017 m999">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Children under the age of 10 are not allowed inside the museum;<ref name="ChildPolicy" /><ref name="James Watkinson 2021" /> this restriction, intended to protect the paintings, has existed ever since the museum opened in 1935.<ref name="nyt-1993-12-04" /><ref name="Wasserman 1994" /> As part of the same restriction, youths between 10 and 15 years old are allowed to enter only if there is an adult with them.<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1935" /> The museum provides guided tours to small groups and school classes.<ref name="James Watkinson 2021" /> Starting in the late 1990s, the museum provided complimentary audio guides to visitors;<ref name="Andre 1999" /><ref name="Vikan 1998" /> it later added the Bloomberg Connects smartphone app.<ref name="Eisenpress 2022 u963"/><ref name="The Frick Collection 2024 n528">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The guides are offered in several languages<ref name="The Frick Collection 2024 n528"/> and consist of handsets that provide information about the artworks and the subjects of each painting.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Frick also launched its website in the late 1990s;<ref name="Vogel 1998" /> the website has been updated several times since then.<ref name="New York Almanack 2012 x308">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Funding

Frick's will established a $15 million endowment fund for what would become the Frick Collection museum.<ref name="Times Union 1919" /> At the Frick Collection Inc.'s 50th anniversary in 1970, the museum's endowment had grown to $40 million, and it received more than $1 million a year in income.<ref name="nyt-1971-07-07" /> By 1997, the Frick Collection had an operating budget of $10 million and an endowment of $170 million;<ref name="Abbe 1997" /><ref name="Vogel 1997 t186" /> this increased in the mid-2000s to a budget of $18.8 million and an endowment of $200 million.<ref name="Wakin 2005 u459" /> As of 2015, the museum had an endowment of $315 million.<ref name="Freeman 2015 b346">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Reception and commentary

20th-century commentary

In 1912, before the collection had become a museum, Town & Country magazine wrote that Frick owned "one of the greatest private collections of paintings in the world".<ref name="Town & Country 1912" /> Art World magazine said in 1917 that the Frick House contained "one of the most remarkable assemblies of old paintings in the United States belonging to a private collector", rivaling the collection of the former Lenox Library on the same site.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> When the Frick Collection opened to the public in 1935, a critic for The New York Times wrote that the museum's "informality in the distribution of works of art has even its amusing overtones",<ref name="nyt-1935-12-12">Template:Cite news</ref> while another commentator in The Christian Science Monitor regarded the collection as having "long been recognized as one of the world's treasuries of art".<ref name="Sherburne 1936" /> One of the few detractors was Lewis Mumford, who felt that the other objects in the house diverted visitors' attention from the visual art.<ref name="Charleston Daily Mail 2010" />

A Los Angeles Times critic wrote in 1941 that few other art collections in the U.S. "so completely [exemplified] a great period in American art collecting".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The New York Times wrote in 1969 that the Frick was one of the world's best "residence-museums" along with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Wallace Collection.<ref name="nyt-1969-12-17" /> A critic for the Christian Science Monitor said in 1971 that the collection's paintings seemed to fit the building because Frick had "to be sure he felt at home with them".<ref name="Chapin 1971" /> Another critic, writing for The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York, in 1975, praised the museum's "tranquility and superb decorative arts coupled with masterworks".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

John Russell of the Times said in 1981 that "The Frick is loved for its unpushy ways, for the largesse of its hospitality and for the high quality of what it has to show."<ref name="The New York Times 1981 s585" /> In a review for the Christian Science Monitor the same year, Madeline Lee wrote that the museum was special because of its courtyard and reflecting pool;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> another reviewer for the same newspaper said "The Frick is the only museum I know whose collection consists almost exclusively of great or nearly great art."<ref name="Wolff 1983" /> GQ magazine said that "the most renowned—and probably best—combined house and art collection of a so-called 'robber baron' is that of Henry Clay Frick".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Bryan Miller of the Times wrote in 1987 that there were "artistic gems in every room",<ref name="nyt-1987-04-24">Template:Cite news</ref> and Grace Glueck of the same paper called it "the enclave of masterpieces".<ref name="Glueck 1987 z050" /> A Los Angeles Times critic in 1990 said the Frick Collection "represents the aristocratic aspirations of turn-of-the-century robber barons".<ref name="lat-1990-11-25">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Another New York Times critic called the museum "as frumpy and elegant as a dowager queen", describing the quality of its collection and the Frick House.<ref name="The New York Times 1993 j985">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A Globe and Mail reviewer said the museum was extremely peaceful and was "a more comfortable museum than most" because it used to serve as a residence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

21st-century commentary

A 2000 poll by Travel Holiday magazine ranked the Frick Collection as the third-best art museum in the U.S.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Upon the museum's 75th anniversary in 2010, a Wall Street Journal critic wrote that, although the museum lacked major shows and had not undergone a high-profile renovation, it "quietly attracts a steady stream of about 300,000 visitors each year who come to see one of the most extraordinary assemblages of fine and decorative arts in the world".<ref name="Landi 2010" /> A reviewer for the Condé Nast Traveler wrote that the museum was "exactly the right scale, everything in the collection is worth seeing, and can be viewed in an hour or less",<ref name="James Watkinson 2021" /> while a New Yorker writer said that "you feel more than welcomed—you feel invited, like a family friend" at the Frick House.<ref name="Schjeldahl 2021 o508">Template:Cite magazine</ref> A critic for the Daily Telegraph wrote in 2014 that the Frick was "the best small museum in New York, perfect if you don't fancy dealing with a crush of people at MoMA or the Met".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

When the museum was temporarily relocated to 945 Madison Avenue, one critic wrote that the temporary building was "an exercise in contrasts" with the Frick House's decorations and that "the vibe here is serious and meditative".<ref name="Whittle 2021" /> Another critic wrote for Vogue that the Frick Madison was a "shock to the senses in every way" but that "the collection comes directly to the fore" amid that building's bare walls,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and writers for the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal similarly said that the spartan setting helped highlight the collection itself.<ref name=wsj-2021-03-10 /><ref name="Financial Times o258">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Holland Cotter of The New York Times wrote that the museum's collection "looked glamorous as always but lonely for" the Frick House.<ref name="nyt-2025-03-20" />

After the house's renovation was finished, Wall Street Journal writer Eric Gibson wrote that the relocations of some artwork had "added depth and texture to the Frick experience".<ref name="p3188104144" /> while Cotter wrote that the museum "feels organic" because of how the artwork was arranged.<ref name="nyt-2025-03-20" /> A writer for Art News said the museum "offers a dream of art, where images enchant as much as instruct".<ref name="Kleinbub p601" />

See also

• Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, a similar museum further north on Fifth Avenue
• List of museums in New York City
• List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City

References

Sources

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Further reading

• Template:Cite book
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• Template:Cite book (Foreword by Roxane Gay; photographed by Joe Coscia Jr.; with texts by Ian Wardropper and Xavier F. Salomon.)
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External links

• Template:Official website
• Virtual tour of the Frick Collection provided by Google Arts & Culture
• The Frick Collection, Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

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