Enjoy Art In A Historic Gilded Age Setting

The Frick Collection reopened on Manhattan’s Upper East Side this spring after a five-year, $220 million renovation and expansion.

Even if the walls were bare and there were no furnishings inside, this house museum and its gardens would be well worth visiting.

A Grand Home For Art

Located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 70th Street opposite Central Park, the museum is housed in a spectacular Gilded Age mansion, once the home of industrialist, financier, and art collector Henry Clay Frick.

Frick lived there with his wife, Adelaide Howard Childs Frick, their daughter, and their 27 servants who lived on the third floor.

An architectural gem, the house was designed in 1914 by Carrere and Hastings, who also designed the main branch of the New York Public Library. With pilasters, a limestone facade, and classic symmetrical design, the three-story building exemplifies the Beaux-Arts style popular at the turn of the 20th century, grand but not ostentatious.

The ambitious and painstaking restoration of the building’s interiors and exteriors was led by Annabelle Selldorf, principal of Selldorf Architects. She and her team aimed to respect the building’s historical elements while updating its infrastructure to meet modern needs and sensibilities.

“I believe that this careful blending of old and new will make people feel even more welcome as they return to—or discover for the first time—the Frick, its collection, and its beautiful setting,” said Selldorf in the press release announcing the reopening.

Visiting The Frick Collection

One could spend several hours or days at the museum, depending on available time and personal interest. The permanent collection is impressive, boasting some 1,800 works of fine and decorative art.

More than half of the permanent holdings are part of Mr. Frick’s vast original collection of Old Masters, family portraits, and other paintings, medals, ceramics, sculptures, clocks and watches, and decorative objects. The rest of the holdings were acquired through purchases and donations from private collectors.

While Mr. Frick’s invaluable art collection undoubtedly helped elevate his social status, the man had a genuine passion for the arts, and he always planned for the mansion on Fifth Avenue to become a public museum after his death.

One biographer quotes Mr. Frick saying: “I think [art collecting] is a great thing for a man to do. It has given me more real pleasure than anything I have ever engaged in, outside of business.”

Noteworthy temporary installations at the museum this season include a special commission of life-like porcelain plants and flowers by sculptor Vladimir Kanevsy, and the debut this spring of a trio of three compelling oils, Vermeer’s Love Letters.

Because each of the galleries is intimate in size, the scale of the mansion always feels human. Timed entry tickets prevent overcrowding, with even fewer people typically visiting on weekdays, early mornings, and late afternoons.

Great care was paid to the seamless flow of patrons from room to room as well as the excellent lighting of the holdings. Well-informed docents or security staff are present in each gallery, but no physical barriers (like stanchions) separate paintings and many decorative objects from viewers. This allows visitors to get close to works of art. For those who want to linger, it’s easy to find settees where they can sit, observe and rest.

A free Frick Mobile Visitor Guide—made possible through the philanthropy of Bloomberg Connects is accessible by scanning a QR code from smartphones. It offers introductions to each work of art with commentary by curators (free Wi-Fi is available throughout the museum).

Rediscovering The Frick

Because The Frick Collection is one of the most inspiring sanctuaries in the city, many art lovers find ways to support the museum through membership and other programs.

Those who are museum members or other repeat visitors will be impressed by the renovations, the most significant upgrade to The Frick Collection since it opened to the public in 1935.

These upgrades include:

• Additions to the original building to accommodate new exhibition galleries and offices

• An expansion of the Frick Art Research Library, a resource for scholars that includes books, periodicals, auction catalogs, and other digital resources.
• Restoration of the viewing garden on East 70th Street to its original design by British architect Russell Paige (it had to be removed to renovate the building)
• Improvements to the Garden Court (the second of three green spaces at the Frick), including restoration of the light-filled curvilinear ceiling, refurbishment of the limestone interior and fountain, and replanting of the garden
• Excavation of a below-ground space for a new 218-seat Auditorium for lectures and performances
• A purpose-built education center on the ground floor
• Infrastructure upgrades, including improved accessibility

“With the return of the Frick’s masterworks to their revitalized home, we welcome visitors to rediscover the beauty, intimacy, and scholarship that have defined the Frick for nearly a century and that we hope will inspire generations of visitors to come,” stated Axel Ruger, the new Frick’s Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director.

For residents of the metro area and tourists, The Frick Collection offers a peaceful sanctuary amid the always bustling, energetic city.

Visit, relax, unwind, and allow your mind and imagination to enjoy and explore the beauty of this world-class institution.

If you haven’t already seen the excellent YouTube video, Welcome to the Frick, narrated by Steve Martin, click below. The video received 85,000 views in its first week online.