Stroll inside the Frick and inhale the 1900s. View the private art collection of an industrialist,
financier and art patron of the Gilded age in his former mansion.
While a few alterations and additions were made
to Henry Clay Frick's residence to render it a public gallery, the old rooms retain the original
decor complete with moldings on the walls and ceilings which are adorned
with gold leaf. The living room, wholly
preserved from Frick's time, even has the eighteenth century French furniture arranged
as it was then. The original
Persian carpet lies beneath the table in the center of the room, dark mahogany-curtains
frame the windows, El Greco's St Jerome
graces the wall above the fireplace, and paintings by Masters such as Bellini,
Titian and Holbein dot the walls.
In the library, the musky scent of old leather from
the encyclopedias and tomes of art permeate the room and embrace the visitor;
antique vases are displayed on the cadenza, and the dark-paneled walls are
punctuated with masterpieces from the British school. The vast West Gallery with furniture dating from the Italian Renaissance could easily be a wing
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Formerly the Ballroom, the hall had been
turned into a private gallery during Frick's time.
Many of the alterations made to the mansion were
seamless. The covered courtyard in
the middle of the house, reminiscent of Moorish architecture, used to be an
open carriage court. Now it's a
delightful resting area for tired visitors to refresh themselves in soothing
greenery. And the previously open
walkway off the 5th Avenue garden was walled off with glass and converted into
the Portico Gallery. At the time
of viewing busts by Houdon and Clodion, late eighteenth century French
sculptors, displayed there gleamed in the slanting afternoon sun.
Although the first floor of the mansion is accessible, the bedrooms upstairs accessed via a gracefully curved ornate
staircase are closed to the public, as are the kitchens in the basement. Both floors, however, are used by the
staff.
Visiting exhibitions at the Frick are representational
art, masterpieces and classics, to be displayed in harmony with the mansion's
aesthetic. The Frick takes great
pride in its minimalist exhibitions and featured exhibits can showcase only one
or two works of art. At the time
of visiting, the museum's widely publicized El Greco exhibit consisted of
roughly three paintings.
There are docent-led tours of the museum free
with admission, as well as an auditorium with a video loop providing
information about Frick, his family and the museum.
Architecture, sculptures, paintings and antiques,
there is something for almost everyone at the Frick.
