Frick Collection facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about the New York City museum. For the Pittsburgh museums, see Frick Art & Historical Center and Frick Fine Arts Building.

Quick facts for kids

Established	1935
Location	1 East 70th Street Manhattan, New York City
Type	Art
Public transit access	Subway: at 68th Street–Hunter College Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M66, M72, M98, M101, M102, M103

The Frick Collection is a famous art museum in New York City. It has a special collection of "Old Master" paintings. These are artworks by famous European artists from before the 1800s. The museum also displays beautiful European furniture and decorative arts. You can see works by artists like Bellini, Fragonard, Goya, Rembrandt, Turner, Velázquez, and Vermeer.

The museum was started by a wealthy businessman named Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919). Since it opened in 1935, the collection has grown to more than double its original size. The Frick also has the Frick Art Reference Library. This is a top research center for art history, created in 1920 by Frick's daughter, Helen Clay Frick (1888–1984).

History of the Frick Collection
- How the Collection Started
- Opening as a Museum
What You Can See: The Collection
- Artworks and Objects
Special Exhibitions
How the Museum is Run
Artists in the Collection
Selected Highlights of the Collection
Images for kids
See also

History of the Frick Collection

The Frick Collection became a public museum because Henry Clay Frick wanted it to be. He left his art collection and his large home at 1 East 70th Street to the public. He hoped future generations would enjoy it.

How the Collection Started

Henry Frick began collecting art as soon as he became wealthy. A big part of his art collection is still in his old home in Pittsburgh. This home, called "Clayton," is now part of the Frick Art & Historical Center. His daughter, Helen, also gave some art to the Frick Fine Arts Building at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Frick family moved from Pittsburgh to New York in 1905. Henry Frick first rented a house on Fifth Avenue. He moved many of his artworks there. His permanent home, which is now the museum, was built between 1912 and 1914. An architect named Thomas Hastings designed it. Frick lived in the house until he passed away in 1919.

Opening as a Museum

Henry Frick wanted his house and everything inside it to become a public museum. This included all the artworks, furniture, and decorations. However, his wife, Adelaide Howard Childs Frick, and their daughter Helen continued to live in the mansion. After Adelaide Frick died in 1931, work began to turn the house into a public museum.

John Russell Pope changed and made the building bigger in the early 1930s. This was to make it suitable for public visitors. The museum officially opened its doors on December 16, 1935. Over the years, there have been ideas for more additions to the museum. This includes a beautiful magnolia garden that was planted in the 1930s.

The museum also expanded in 1977 and 2011. In 2014, there were plans for even more expansion. But some people in the community were against it because it would mean losing a garden. The Frick decided not to go ahead with those plans and is looking at other options.

What You Can See: The Collection

The Frick is one of the best smaller art museums in the United States. It has a high-quality collection of "old master" paintings and beautiful furniture. These are displayed in nineteen galleries inside the former home. Henry Frick always planned for his mansion to become a museum. Because of this, some paintings are still arranged just as he wanted them.

Besides its main collection, the Frick often has small, special temporary exhibitions.

Artworks and Objects

The collection features some of the most famous paintings by major European artists. It also includes many sculptures and porcelain pieces. You can also see 18th-century French furniture, Limoges enamel, and Oriental rugs.

After Henry Frick died, his daughter, Helen Clay Frick, and the museum's leaders added to the collection. Almost half of the artworks have been bought since 1919. Henry Frick's will said that the artworks he owned cannot be loaned out. However, The Frick Collection can lend out artworks and objects that were bought after his death.

Some famous pieces in the collection include:

Jean-Honoré Fragonard's masterpiece The Progress of Love.
Three paintings by Johannes Vermeer, including Mistress and Maid.
Two paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael, including Quay at Amsterdam.
Piero della Francesca's St. John the Evangelist.

Special Exhibitions

The Frick is known for its amazing temporary exhibits. For example, when the Mauritshuis museum in the Netherlands was being rebuilt, some very rare artworks toured the United States. These included Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and Fabritius’s The Goldfinch. These famous paintings were shown at the Frick in 2013, even though other places in New York City wanted to host them.

How the Museum is Run

Visitors to the Museum

Every year, about 275,000 to 300,000 people visit the Frick Collection. This information comes from The Art Newspaper.

Museum Leadership

In 2011, Ian Wardropper became the director of the Frick Collection. He took over from Anne Poulet, who had been the director since 2003. Anne Poulet was the first female director of the Frick. During her time, she made the museum's small board of trustees bigger. A board of trustees is a group of people who help guide and oversee the museum. She also started the Director’s Circle, a group of people who donate money to the museum each year.

How the Museum is Funded

By 1997, the Frick Collection had a yearly budget of $10 million. It also had an endowment of $170 million. An endowment is a large sum of money that is invested, and the income from it helps support the museum. Even with this large endowment, the museum still needs money to keep the building in good condition.

Learning and Education

In 2008, the Frick hired Rika Burnham to lead their education department. She made some exciting changes. For example, she started "First Fridays," which offer free entrance to the museum once a month. These evenings include special talks about the art and fun activities for visitors.

Artists in the Collection

Here are some of the artists whose works you can find at the Frick Collection:

Selected Highlights of the Collection

Titian, Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap, c. 1516
Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Thomas More, 1527
Hans Holbein the Younger, Thomas Cromwell, 1532 or 1533
Agnolo di Cosimo, Portrait of Ludovico Cappon, 1551
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Three Soldiers, 1568
El Greco, Saint Jerome, c. 1590–1600
Diego Velázquez, King Philip IV of Spain, 1644
Rembrandt, The Polish Rider, 1655
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait, 1658
Jan Vermeer, Officer and Laughing Girl, 1657
Jan Vermeer, Girl Interrupted at Her Music, 1658–1661
Jan Vermeer, Mistress and Maid, 1667
François Boucher, The Four Seasons (Spring), 1755
François Boucher, The Four Seasons (Winter), 1755
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Secret Meeting, 1771
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Progress of Love - Love Letters, 1771-1772
Francisco Goya, The Forge, 1817
John Constable, The White Horse, 1819
J.M.W. Turner, The Harbour of Dieppe, 1826
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Louise de Broglie, Countess d'Haussonville, 1845
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mother and Children (La Promenade), 1875–76
James McNeill Whistler, Harmony in Pink and Grey (Portrait of Lady Meux), 1881
J.M.W. Turner, Cologne, the Arrival of a Packet Boat in the Evening, 1826
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Perseus and Andromeda, 1730–31
J.M.W. Turner, Mortlake Terrace Early Summer Morning, 1826
Hendrick van der Burgh, Drinkers before the Fireplace, 1660
Gentile Bellini, Doge Giovanni Mocenigo, 1478-1485