Frick Collection
1 East 70th Street (at Fifth Avenue)
Manhattan
(212) 288-0700

Summary: A breathtaking art collection in a luxurious setting. Particularly strong in Renaissance paintings. If you want to see a top-notch art collection, but don't have lots of time, this is the perfect place to go.

Historically Speaking
Henry Clay Frick was a millionaire in his own right, even before he served as president and chairman of Carnegie Steel and on J.P. Morgan's board of directors. He bequeathed his mansion, along with his extensive art collection and a $15 million endowment, to the City of New York upon his death in 1919, just five years after the building was completed. The result is a wonderfully intimate museum.

What You Will See
You will see paintings by Rembrandt, Renoir, Titian, Vermeer, El Greco, Ingres, Giovanni Bellini, John Constable, Jean Fragonard, Thomas Gainsborough, Frans Hals, William Hogarth, Hans Holbein the Younger, Piero della Francesca, Claude Monet, J.M. Turner, Jan van Eyck, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler, as well as Limoges enamels, Oriental rugs, Chinese and French porcelains, classically-inspired bronzes, and Renaissance and 18th century French furniture.

Without a doubt, though, much of the delight in viewing this collection is the setting itself. No sterile, temporary exhibit walls here. Instead, you will find masterpieces displayed the way they were meant to be -- in the living rooms and salons of a private (albeit grand) home. We are particularly fond of the library and the serene glass-ceilinged garden court.

The Frick sponsors a series of free concerts on Sunday afternoons and lectures on Wednesday evenings. Be sure to visit the museum's web site to see what will be happening during your visit and to check the latest hours and admissions information.

Getting There
Take the #6 subway to the 68th Street stop. Or take the M1-M4 buses (northbound on Madison Avenue, southbound on Fifth Avenue).

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