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.

From the description of The Frick Collection Construction Records, 1933-1937. (Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection). WorldCat record id: 612322641

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