About a month ago, Olivia and I made the trek to the beloved Frick Collection. It was only a week after we were released from the confines of school, but we were ready for another adventure. Out of more than 10 museums in Manhattan alone, The Frick Collection in particular stole my heart, due to its current Turner Exhibition. I first fell in love with J.M.W. Turner while studying The Slave Ship. The emotional intensity he manages to project through quick brushstrokes and bold colors is astounding. My "art nerd" needed to see more of his work. Olivia was not as smitten as I – she perceived Turner's paintings more as unfinished than as artistically genius; but she was open to the visit. The Exhibition provided us the opportunity to see the artist's paintings in person and formulate our own opinions. Since Turner’s Modern and Ancient Ports: Passages through Time would be leaving The Frick after Mother's Day, Olivia and I needed to act fast!
Here are some FAST FACTS ABOUT THE FRICK!
1) It wasn't always an art museum! The Frick is a converted mansion built by Henry Clay Frick - one of America's most successful industrialists.
2) There are 16 permanent galleries each uniquely arranging masterpieces of Western paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts. There are more than 1,100 works of art from the Renaissance to late-19th century.
3) Within the permanent collection, The Frick has 3 Vermeer's! It's important to note: ONLY 37 VERMEER'S EXISIT. This is HUGE!
4) No photography is allowed within The Frick; snapping pictures is only permitted in the Garden Court which sports a beautiful fountain!
5) The Frick Art Reference Library was founded in 1920 by Helen Clay Frick (daughter of Henry) to study, to catalog, and to collect data about Henry's personal art collection. Nowadays, it continues to serve as a resource for the study of art and its history.
Olivia expertly guided me to the museum from the subway, meandering throughout Central Park and the foreign New York City streets. And although I am always ready for an adventure, we never got lost. While waiting in line to purchase entrance tickets, Olivia and I - hopeless art history romantics - imagined ourselves working in a museum like The Frick. We returned to reality with a snicker that we aren't even qualified to be a "ticket checker" let alone a museum curator.
Our immediate mission focused on locating Turner...after all, he was my sole inspiration for coming to The Frick. However, as we turned the corner down the hallway, we spotted a Vermeer casually hanging on the wall. Olivia and I were at the very least stunned. There are so few authentic Vermeer paintings in the world, the likelihood of us seeing one was rare - and the Frick had three! Immediately, the entire trip was automatically worth it. Vermeer paints with such a delicate hand on small canvases; a wonderful surprise to see the master's work in person!
In another room, my eye caught the portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein, and I dragged Olivia into a room covered with portraits. Hans Holbein managed to paint More's sleeves to appear as actual velvet, quite a feat! While I continued admiring the famous men upon the walls, Olivia wandered into the accompanying room. She excitedly called me over; it was as if we escaped into an idyllic paradise. The walls were covered with massive paintings depicting romantic garden scenes between two lovers. From the frivolity to the pastel colors, Olivia immediately recognized them as the work of Fragonard, a famous Rococo painter. The room tells a story about "The Progress of Love" - each painting representing a different stage.
While we toured the other galleries, Olivia and I found many other notable treasures such as St. Francis in the Desert by Bellini, Self Portrait (1658) by Rembrandt, The White Horse by John Constable, and The Rehearsal by Degas. The hallway leading to the Turner Exhibition, however, featured perhaps Olivia's favorite painting, Comtesse d'Haussonville by Ingres. And I could not deny, it was a gorgeous painting - the precision, the fine details, the perfectionism, the painting could have been a brilliant photograph. Ironically, accompanying Ingres's portrait was Vétheuil in Winter by Monet. The two artists could not be any more stylistically different, so Olivia and I had a playful banter about which piece better represented art. Although I defended Monet, Ingres truly crafted a beautiful portrayal of the Countess.
Finally, we reached Turner! J.M.W. Turner was Britain's greatest seascape artist, so fitting the exhibition was titled, Turner's Modern and Ancient Ports: Passages through Time. There were 35 works - mediums ranging from oil to watercolor to graphite - that captured cities in England, Germany, and France. The canvases were massive and exploded with color. Two of Turner's works were unfinished but still eye catching. Olivia and I had differing opinions on the oil paintings, however, we were in agreement over the watercolors. They were surprisingly dazzling; in such small compositions, Turner managed to achieve the breathtaking effects of light and color from a medium with little pigment! My admiration for Turner increased, and Olivia saw his work in a new light.
Olivia and I had a lovely outing filled with art history adventure and painting appreciation. In closing, I would like to offer my last tidbit of advice: when exploring The Frick, never put a toe past the green carpet in the West Gallery because if you do, a security guard will surely notice and "kindly" yell at you!