Frick Collection

Pittsburgh industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) bequeathed his New York home, furnishings and works of art to be established as a public art gallery, The Frick Collection. In 1931, upon the death of Mr. Frick's wife, Adelaide, the Board of Trustees began the process of converting the Frick residence at One East 70th Street into a public museum, and constructing a new building for the Frick Art Reference Library. Frederick Mortimer Clapp was hired as an adviser on the project and was named Organizing Director of The Frick Collection in 1933. John Russell Pope was hired as the architect, and Marc Eidlitz & Son was selected as the general contractor. After a vault was first constructed to house works of art and furnishings, construction began in August, 1933. The construction project entailed the demolition Mr. Frick's former office, the porte-cochere and courtyard, the old Frick Art Reference Library building, and two properties at 10-12 East 71st Street; newly constructed were the Oval Room, the East Gallery, the Garden Court, the Lecture Room, the Entrance Hall, and a new 13-story Library building. The new Frick Art Reference Library building opened on January 14, 1935, and The Frick Collection opened to the public on December 16, 1935.

The Frick Collection was founded by industrialist and art collector, Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), who bequeathed his home, furnishings and works of art to the public for the purpose of "establishing and maintaining a gallery of art." When the Trustees began the process of converting the Frick residence into a public art museum in 1931, Frederick Mortimer Clapp (1879-1969) was hired as an adviser on the project and was named Organizing Director in January, 1933. Mr. Clapp oversaw every aspect of the alterations and additions to The Frick Collection, as well as the construction of a new 13-story Frick Art Reference Library building. The Frick Art Reference Library building opened on January 14, 1935, and The Frick Collection opened on December 16, 1935. In 1936 Frederick Mortimer Clapp became the Director of The Frick Collection, a position that he held until his retirement in 1951.

Frederick Mortimer Clapp, born in New York, received his master's degree from Yale University in 1910. He taught Greek at City College and Elizabethan drama and Russian literature at the extension of the University of California. In 1914 he received a doctorate degree in art from the University of Paris. He served as the head of the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Pittsburgh from 1926 to 1937. Among his publications are numerous volumes of poetry, and a catalogue raisonné of Pontormo's works.

The Frick Collection was founded by Pittsburgh industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), who bequeathed his New York residence and art collection as a public art gallery. After the death of Henry Clay Frick's wife, Adelaide Frick, on October 4, 1931, the Board of Trustees began the process of converting the Frick residence into a museum. Frederick Mortimer Clapp was appointed adviser (and was named Organizing Director in January 1933), John Russell Pope was selected as the architect for the project, and Marc Eidlitz & Son was chosen as the general contractor.

The plans called for the construction of the Boucher Room, the Oval Room, the East Gallery, the Garden Court, the Lecture Room, a new entrance hall, and a basement vault, as well as a new 13-story building to house the Frick Art Reference Library. The construction project entailed the demolition Mr. Frick's former office, the porte-cochere and courtyard, the old Frick Art Reference Library building, and two properties at 10-12 East 71st Street. After works of art and furnishings were moved into the newly constructed basement vault, construction began in August 1933. The new Frick Art Reference Library building opened to the public on January 14, 1935, and The Frick Collection opened to the public on December 16, 1935.

The Frick Collection, in conjunction with the New York University Institute of Fine Arts, held its first Symposium on Art and Archaeology for graduate students on February 23, 1940, the first symposium of its kind to be held in the United States. The press release referred to it as "a new experiment in art education," held to "provide graduate students with an opportunity to meet one another and compare varying approaches to the field of art in a scholarly and appreciative environment." Eleven students from the art history graduate programs of Columbia University, Harvard University, New York University, Princeton University, Yale University, and Bryn Mawr College presented papers on topics of their choice at the first Symposium.

The Symposium was suspended from 1942-1946, and held solely at New York University from 1947-1948. Beginning in 1949, the program was held annually, and hosted in alternate years by The Frick Collection or the Institute of Fine Arts. In 1953, the program's title was changed to the Symposium on the History of Art. Additional institutions participating in the Symposium over the years include the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, the University of Delaware, Johns Hopkins University, Oberlin College, the State University of New York at Binghamton, Boston University, Brown University, the University of Delaware and Rutgers University. The Symposium continues to be held on an annual basis.