Entrepreneur Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) has amassed one of the most outstanding collections of Old Masters in the world, which without exaggeration contains virtually everything, including works by Bellini, Raphael, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Goya. In addition to paintings, the neoclassical 5th Avenue mansion has an extensive collection of decorative arts and European sculpture. This museum is worth a visit if only because works from its collection can only be seen here, as they are not given away for temporary projects. And special exhibitions, concerts and educational programs contribute to a full immersion in the atmosphere of European art heyday. In addition, the museum is still actively acquiring masterpieces of painting: for example, the fantastic Danaë sprinkled with golden rain, by Horacio Gentileschi, was purchased by the institution in 2016 for $30.5 million.
For so long, the ornate furniture and lavish furnishings of the Frick Collection served as a haven for New Yorkers who were repulsed by modern white-walled galleries. Housed in a gilded century mansion on 5th Avenue and bequeathed to the nation by industrialist Henry Clay Frick after his wife’s death in 1931, the Frick Collection is the perfect place to spend a day reflecting on masterpieces.
Right now, the Rembrandts, Vermeirs and Goyas are being held hostage five blocks from the former Breyer Metropolitan Building at 75th and Madison, which is more of a supervillain headquarters than a posh mansion. This mansion, dubbed “Frick Madison,” is on display until the mansion is renovated.
There are seascapes by Turner, looming portraits by Titian and three Vermeers of a small number of famous creatures. One of the advantages of going to Marcel Breuer’s Brutalist monolith is that these three masterpieces by the Dutch artist are hidden in their own room-a rare treat.
