Frick Collection

Henry Clay Frick was a coke and steel magnate. As early as 1870, he had hung pictures throughout his house in Broadford, Pennsylvania. Frick acquired the first painting in his permanent collection, Luis Jiménez's In the Louvre, in 1880, after moving to Pittsburgh. and he began devoting significant amounts of time to his collection. This made Frick one of several prominent American businessmen who also collected art, along with figures such as Henry Havemeyer and J. P. Morgan. In explaining why he collected art, Frick said, "I can make money... I cannot make pictures." When the Frick family moved from Pittsburgh to New York City in 1905, they leased the William H. Vanderbilt House at 640 Fifth Avenue, and Frick expanded his collection during that time. The collection was spread across their homes in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings designed Frick's permanent house at 1 East 70th Street, which was completed in 1914. The house had been designed with the collection in mind. Frick, who was known for being especially particular in his tastes, spent an estimated $10 million to acquire pieces during his lifetime. Duveen opened four art-purchasing accounts for Frick, including two accounts specifically for art from Morgan's estate. Creation Establishment of Frick Collection Inc. on Fifth Avenue as a public museum for his art collection. Frick died in 1919 at the age of 69, bequeathing the house as a public museum for his art collection. His widow Adelaide Howard Childs Frick continued living in the mansion with her daughter Helen; if Adelaide died or moved away, the house would be converted to a public museum. At the time, the collection alone was worth $30 million, and Frick also provided a $15 million endowment for the maintenance of the collection. Childs served as the head of the Frick estate's board of trustees until his death in 1965. Per the terms of Frick's will, the trustees moved to incorporate Frick's art collection in April 1920, submitting articles of incorporation to the New York state government. The Frick Collection Inc. was incorporated that month. The New York and Pennsylvania state governments fought over which government should collect taxes from Frick's estate. Amid this dispute, the collection was reassessed at $13 million in 1921; Meanwhile, Helen Frick studied plans for the Witt Library in London in the early 1920s, as she wanted to create a library for Frick's personal collection. Helen catalogued most of the collection over the next decade. and a dedicated library building opened the next year. Over the years, four additional trustees had to be appointed after their predecessors died. they announced in January 1933 that the collection would likely open to the public within a year. John Russell Pope was hired to alter and enlarge the house. Frederick Mortimer Clapp, who had joined the Frick Collection as an advisor in 1931, was hired as the museum's first director. Work on the mansion began in December 1933. A new library wing was constructed on 71st Street to replace the original library. Other modifications included a new storage vault and renovations of the Frick family's living space. The museum's opening, originally scheduled for 1934, was postponed because of the complexity of the construction project. The Frick estate also sued the city government in 1935 to obtain a property-tax exemption for the museum, and the taxes were waived the next year, as the Frick Collection was a public museum. When the rebuilt library opened in January 1935, it had 200,000 photographs, 18,000 catalogs of art sales, and 45,000 books. The museum itself had a soft opening on December 11, 1935; the preview was noteworthy enough that the names of 700 visitors were published in that day's New York Herald Tribune. The Frick Collection officially opened to the public five days later on December 16. When it opened, the museum did not charge admission fees, but staff distributed timed-entry tickets to prevent crowding. Although about 600 tickets were distributed daily to people who showed up in person, other visitors had to make reservations several weeks in advance due to high demand. 1930s to 1960s Within a year of the museum's opening, demand had declined enough that officials decided to scale down, and then eliminate, its timed-entry ticketing system. The ropes throughout the house were taken down, and visitors were allowed to visit the Frick House's rooms in any order. Museum officials also presented lectures five days a week during the late 1930s, these concerts and lectures continued throughout Clapp's tenure at the museum. To expand their land holdings, museum officials bought a neighboring townhouse at 9 East 70th Street in 1940 and used that building as storage space. Museum officials constructed a vault in 1941 to protect the artwork from air raids. During World War II, the museum continued to host visitors, but some rooms were closed, and more than five dozen paintings and all of the sculptures were moved into storage. Museum officials took these pieces out of storage in May 1945 and restored them; other artworks in the house were rearranged and cleaned as well. The Frick acquired another townhouse at 7 East 70th Street in 1947 and replaced it with a service wing. When John D. Rockefeller Jr. offered to donate several pieces of artwork in 1948, Helen Frick objected, arguing that the museum only accepted gifts from Frick family members. In the lawsuit that followed, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the terms of Frick's will did not prevent the museum from accepting external gifts; the court's Appellate Division upheld this ruling. Rockefeller, who had been on the board of trustees, resigned amid the dispute. Biebel established a decorative-arts conservation program, and the number of annual visitors nearly doubled under his tenure. The museum's collection remained largely unchanged over the next several years, as Helen Frick opposed any expansions, saying that her father would not have wanted items to be added. Helen resigned from the museum's board of trustees in 1961, Assistant director Harry D. M. Grier replaced Biebel, becoming the museum's third director in 1964. By the mid-1960s, the Frick had 160 portraits, 80 sculptures, and various other items in its collection. The Frick was open six days a week (except in August, when it was closed) and was still free to enter. The collection was small compared to that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which at the time had 365,000 items. As part of a master plan in 1967, the Frick's trustees drew up plans for an annex at 7 and 9 East 70th Street. 1970s to 1990s By the early 1970s, the museum recorded about 800 daily visitors and employed 75 staff members. After Grier was killed in a traffic accident in 1972, Everett Fahy was appointed as the museum's fourth director in 1973. The museum announced plans to construct an annex at 5–9 East 70th Street. After the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) expressed concerns over the fact that the expansion would require the demolition of the Widener House at 5 East 70th Street, the museum announced a plan for a "temporary garden" on the 70th Street lots, which the LPC approved. The original annex was canceled that November, The annex had been proposed because, at the time, the mansion could accommodate only 250 people at once. Under Fahy's tenure, the museum began hosting more temporary exhibits, which it had seldom held before Fahy took over. The Frick began charging admission for the first time in 1976. The annex was completed the next year, along with a garden, The Frick renovated the Boucher Room and cleaned and rearranged its paintings during the following decade. By the mid-1980s, the museum displayed 169 works of art, and the galleries occupied 16 rooms. The museum periodically hosted chamber music performances in the Frick House's courtyard. It was relatively low-profile compared to others in New York City, only sporadically expanding its collection and hosting small temporary exhibitions. After Helen Frick died in 1984, the museum took over responsibility for the Frick Art Research Library; Ceiling lights were installed in the Fragonard and Boucher rooms in the 1980s. Charles Ryskamp, the former director of the Pierpont Morgan Library, was appointed as the Frick's fifth director in December 1986 after Fahy's resignation, though he did not assume that position for another six months. By the 1990s, the art reference library was low on funds; Through the 1990s, the Frick banned all children under the age of 10, as well as unaccompanied minors between ages 10 and 15, and the museum also did not have a café. The New York City government passed a law banning public institutions from discriminating by age in 1993, which would have forced the museum to start admitting children. Museum officials requested a waiver, saying that they would have to install barriers if children were allowed, In addition, further lighting upgrades were made in the mid-1990s. After Samuel Sachs II was named as the museum's sixth director that May, the trustees tasked him with raising funds. Under Sachs's directorship, the museum launched a website in the 1990s, Sachs also contemplated expanding the exhibition space, adding a café, and relocating the entrance to the house's garden. and, in the early 21st century, added the Bloomberg Connects smartphone app. Museum officials also began allowing parties to be hosted in the Frick House. A group named Friends of the Fellows of the Frick Collection was formed to raise interest in the museum. 2000s and 2010s Colin Bailey was appointed as chief curator in 2000 after Munhall resigned. During the late 1990s, the Helen Clay Frick Foundation proposed moving its archives in Pittsburgh to the Frick Collection's archives, prompting an intra-family debate over whether the collections should be merged. The foundation's collection ultimately was split between the two cities in 2001, and most of the objects were sent to New York City. After attendance dropped following the September 11 attacks that year, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provided $270,000, in part to fund extended hours on Fridays. Sachs announced in January 2003 that he would resign as the museum's director in eight months, as the board of trustees had not renewed his contract. Annexes to the museum were proposed in 2001, 2005, and 2008, but all of these plans were canceled because it would have required an extended closure of the museum and still would not have provided sufficient space. and the museum was reorganized as a tax-exempt public charity shortly after Poulet became the director. the museum's facilities had become dated, and the basement exhibition space was no longer sufficient. Further restorations of the museum's galleries took place through the late 2000s to attract visitors. Poulet announced her retirement in September 2010, and Ian Wardropper was hired as the museum's director in 2011. A sculpture gallery, designed by Davis Brody Bond, opened at the Frick House in December 2011, becoming the first new gallery at the museum in three decades. Bailey resigned as the chief curator in 2013, and Xavier F. Salomon was hired as the chief curator the same year. During the 2010s, the Frick began raising $290 million for its renovation. The collection had reached more than 1,100 works by the mid-2010s. In addition, the museum was hosting an average of five temporary exhibits per year. and the Frick announced in June 2015 that it would draw up new designs. To attract younger visitors, the museum began hosting free events in the mid-2010s, such as First Fridays. the LPC approved Selldorf's plans that June. The Frick then sought to relocate to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum temporarily, but the Guggenheim was available for only four months. By September 2018, the Frick was negotiating to take over the Whitney Museum's space at 945 Madison Avenue; the Frick finalized a two-year lease for that building in 2020. 2020s to present between 2021 and 2024. The Frick closed in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City; The museum's collection was moved to 945 Madison Avenue, which reopened as the Frick Madison in March 2021. The Frick Madison housed the museum's old masters collection, including 104 paintings, along with sculptures, vases, and clocks. and about 300 works were placed on display. At the Frick Madison, the artwork was exhibited against stark dark gray walls, in contrast to the Frick House's ornate decoration; The Frick Madison also included a café. The museum had raised $242 million for its capital campaign by the end of 2023. The Frick Madison closed on March 3, 2024. The Henry Clay Frick House and Frick Art Research Library were originally expected to reopen in late 2024, but this was pushed back. Some existing exhibition spaces were rearranged as well, and a restaurant and auditorium were added. The Frick Collection reopened on April 17, 2025, and its first-ever restaurant, Westmoreland, opened that June. To promote the renovated museum, the Frick commissioned a video featuring the comedian Steve Martin. Solomon resigned as chief curator in late 2025 and was replaced by Aimee Ng that year. == Collection ==

The Frick has a collection of old master paintings and furniture housed in 19 galleries of varying size within the former residence. Frick ultimately acquired a variety of European paintings, Renaissance bronzes, and a set of porcelains. Although Frick made over a thousand acquisitions over his lifetime, he resold most of the things he bought. The original collection contained 635 pieces of art or decorations when Frick died. this restriction has prevented works from appearing in other museums' exhibitions. The Frick is also prohibited from selling items in its collection and seldom acquires new works. Some of the works are normally not visible to the public but can be displayed as necessary. The Frick has sometimes borrowed paintings for long periods, including a portrait of Cosimo de' Medici that was displayed in the museum from 1970 to 1989. Purchases of new art were funded by the museum's endowment until 2016, when the museum's trustees established an acquisitions fund. , the museum has 1,800 pieces in its collection, including both paintings and other objects. Prior to the museum's 2020s renovation, it normally displayed 470 objects, An additional 10 galleries were built during the 2020s. By the early 1910s, his collection consisted largely of English and Dutch paintings, with scattered French and Spanish paintings; a magazine article from that time described him as having relatively little interest in Italian Renaissance work. The paintings ranged from the 14th to 19th centuries, and many of the paintings depicted women. Aside from one painting by Giovanni Bellini, Frick did not buy religious works or nudes. "about 140", while other paintings were found to be misattributed. Artists with works in the museum's collection have included: • Giovanni Bellini • François Boucher • Agnolo Bronzino • Cimabue • John Constable • Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot • Aelbert Cuyp • Jacques-Louis David • Gerard David • Jean-Honoré Fragonard • El Greco • Thomas Gainsborough • Francisco Goya • Frans Hals • Meindert Hobbema • William Hogarth • Hans Holbein the Younger • John Hoppner • Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres • Thomas Lawrence • Jean-François Millet • Bartolomé Esteban Murillo • Jean-Marc Nattier • Henry Raeburn • Rembrandt • Pierre-Auguste Renoir • Joshua Reynolds • George Romney • Titian • J. M. W. Turner • Johannes Vermeer • Paolo Veronese • Diego Velázquez • Jacob van Ruisdael • James McNeill Whistler Several artists, including Holbein, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Turner, Gainsborough, Van Dyck, Fragonard, and Boucher, painted multiple pieces that are in the collection. three Vermeer paintings including Mistress and Maid, two van Ruisdael paintings including Quay at Amsterdam, El Greco's Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple, one of Rembrandt's self-portraits, and della Francesca's St. John the Evangelist. Notable works in the original collection Some of the earliest works in Frick's collection were portraits of his family, created for his Pittsburgh residence. At the beginning of the 20th century, Frick bought works such as Rembrandt's Portrait of a Young Artist (possibly the first Old Master painting in the collection), Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's ''Ville d'Avray'', Velázquez's Portrait of Philip IV in Fraga, Rembrandt's A Dutch Merchant, and Rembrandt's The Polish Rider. After Frick had finished his own mansion, he brought over several paintings of his firstborn daughter Martha, who had died in her childhood. and moved the panels to his house's drawing room. At the time of the house's completion, he owned paintings by such artists as El Greco, Goya, Hals, Rembrandt, Romney, Titian, Anthony van Dyck, and Velázquez. In the late 1910s, Frick acquired additional pieces from outside the Morgan collection, such as Hans Holbein's portrait of Thomas Cromwell, Rubens's Portrait of the Marquis Ambrose de Spinola, Rembrandt's An Old Woman Reflecting Over the Lecture, and Gainsborough's Mall between 1915 and 1916 alone. He also bought four Boucher panels, although he turned down the opportunity to buy additional panels. From 1917 through 1919, Frick obtained several pieces of Boucher tapestry furniture, Van Dyck's Countess of Clanbrazil, Hals's Portrait of a Man, Vermeer's Mistress and Maid, and a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. Notable acquisitions after Frick's death In the half-century after Frick died, thirty objects were added to the original collection. as well as a painting by Duccio and the Coronation of the Virgin by Paolo Veneziano. Shortly after the museum opened, it acquired items such as a Renaissance-era panel by della Francesca, a portrait that Boucher painted of his wife, Jacques-Louis David's painting of a French noblewoman, Monet's Vétheuil in Winter, This was followed in the 1950s by three Italian Renaissance paintings, David's portrait of Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni, and Jan van Eyck's Virgin and Child, with Saints and Donor. The collection had only one 17th-century French work until the 1960s, when the museum obtained Claude Lorrain's painting of the Sermon on the Mount; the museum also obtained della Francesca's Crucifixion during that decade. The museum's other acquisitions in the 1990s and 2000s included one of Corot's oil sketches, two of Jean-Baptiste Greuze's portraits, and Gabriel de Saint-Aubin's The Private Academy. After former director Ryskamp died in 2010, he bequeathed some of his collection to the Frick. The museum's other acquisitions in the 2010s included a self-portrait by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo that had been owned by Henry Clay Frick's grandson. In 2023, the Frick obtained Giovanni Battista Moroni's painting Portrait of a Lady, the first Renaissance-era portrait of a woman in the collection. Other objects The modern-day museum's collection includes numerous works of sculpture and porcelain, Frick had acquired some objects from the J. P. Morgan estate specifically to complement the visual art in his collection. and Chinese porcelains. In one case, Frick paid $1.5 million for some of Morgan's 44 enamels and 225 bronzes. He also acquired 40 Limoges enamels from Morgan's collection in 1919, one of the last things he would personally purchase. Duveen displayed numerous marble busts in the Frick House while Frick decided whether to buy them. Other acquisitions of sculpture in the mid-20th century included a Diana bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon, a 15th-century bronze figure of an angel, a 19th-century terracotta bust by Joseph Chinard, a marble bust by Houdon; and a clock. as well as 28 objects from collector Alexis Gregory (including rare clocks and enamels). Selected works == Programming and events ==

Temporary exhibits The Frick Collection has historically hosted temporary exhibitions less frequently than similar museums. in some cases, exhibitions have consisted of a single painting. Late 20th century Temporary exhibitions in the 1970s included an exhibit in honor of the museum's late director Harry D. M. Grier, bronzes by Severo Calzetta da Ravenna, and drawings by Fragonard. French clocks, Henry Clay Frick's earliest acquisitions, and Old Master paintings. Especially in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the museum has hosted temporary exhibitions about singular artworks or artists. watercolors from the Rijksmuseum, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century drawings from the Stanford Museum, a single Claude Monet painting, and drawings by French artists. In 1999, several items in the permanent collection were taken out of storage specifically to complement an exhibition of Ingres's ''Portrait of Comtesse d'Haussonville''. 21st century In the early 2000s, the topics of the Frick's exhibitions included drawings in the collection of the Albertina museum, paintings from John Hay Whitney's collection, El Greco paintings, antique clocks, pieces from the Toledo Museum of Art's collection, a set of Parmigianino paintings, and three consecutive exhibits of antique bronzes. Later in the decade, the temporary exhibitions included portraits by Hans Memling, paintings by Paolo Veronese, a show of French art, the Frick's first Meissen porcelain show, pieces from the Norton Simon Museum's collection, and a single painting by Parmigianino. The Frick hosted various exhibits in honor of its 75th anniversary in 2010, including an exhibition on its own founding. Picasso drawings, Renoir paintings, Piero della Francesca panels, and a historical overview of St. Francis in the Desert. After some works from the Mauritshuis in The Hague were displayed at the Frick in 2013, the Frick displayed several paintings at the Mauritshuis in 2015, marking the first time that the Frick lent paintings to a European museum. During the mid- and late 2010s, the subjects of the Frick's exhibits included paintings from the Scottish National Gallery's collection, paintings from the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, works by Andrea del Sarto, objects by Pierre Gouthière, and canvases by J. M. W. Turner. When the Frick moved to 945 Madison Avenue in the early 2020s, its exhibits included a showcase of Barkley Hendricks paintings (the museum's first exhibit of a black artist's art) and a pair of paintings by Giovanni Bellini and Giorgio da Castelfranco. Other programs The museum hosts special events, such as academic symposiums, concerts, and classes. The Frick's educational programs include online visits for students at secondary schools and postsecondary institutions, as well as courses where a single piece is discussed at length. The Frick also has partnerships with local educational partnerships such as the Ghetto Film School. Docents began hosting lectures in galleries in 2010, After the Frick closed for renovation, museum officials launched several digital programs, including drawing classes and discussions about artwork. Every year since 2000, the Frick hosts the Young Fellows Ball, a springtime gala for philanthropists who are largely under age 40. The museum also started hosting an annual Garden Party in 2008; the event, which began as a members-only gathering, evolved into an annual fundraiser. First Fridays include gallery talks and activities for visitors. and has continued to the present. Musicians who have performed at the Frick Collection have included Ian Bostridge, Matthias Goerne, Guarneri String Quartet, Wanda Landowska, Gregor Piatigorsky, Artur Schnabel, and Kiri Te Kanawa. Prior to the 2020s renovation, the concerts were hosted in the Frick House's music room. Publications The collection is detailed in books such as Masterpieces of the Frick Collection, first published in 1970, and Art in the Frick Collection, first published in 1996. The history of the collection was also detailed in Henry Clay Frick: An Intimate Portrait, a biography of Frick written by his great-granddaughter Martha Frick Symington Sanger in 1998. In 2011, the Frick and the BNP Paribas Foundation published a guidebook on the collection, its history, and the Frick House. The Frick launched its Diptych series in 2017; the series consists of short books with essays that relate to paintings from the museum's collection. == Building ==

The museum is located at the Henry Clay Frick House at 1 East 70th Street, which is part of Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile. The house spans an entire blockfront on Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets. The original structure from 1914 was designed by Thomas Hastings designed by Harry Van Dyke, John Barrington Bayley, and G. Frederick Poehler. The house has a lawn that is mostly closed to the public. The interiors were designed by a variety of people. The British decorator Charles Allom furnished most of the rooms on the ground floor, while the majority of the rooms on the second and third floors were decorated by Elsie de Wolfe. Charles Carstairs and Joseph Duveen provided the original decorations for the rooms. Inside the house are the museum's galleries (adapted from the old living spaces of the mansion), as well as a courtyard with reflecting pool, Some parts of the house have been modified over the years specifically to accommodate the artwork, including a room for the Fragonard panels. In addition to the artwork and artifacts on display, there are bookcases placed throughout the Frick House's rooms, and some rooms have various other pieces of furniture such as a dining table. == Frick Art Research Library ==

The Frick Collection oversees the Frick Art Research Library, which was established in 1920 and opened to researchers in June 1924. The library is housed at a 13-story building at 10 East 71st Street (next to the original mansion). Prior to the library building's opening, the basement bowling alley was used as storage space for the library's collection. By the 1990s, the library had an estimated 235,000 volumes, which grew to 280,000 by the late 2000s. The Frick Art Research Library Photoarchive contains over a million photocopies of artwork, including objects that are not in the museum's collection. The Frick has been part of the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC), which also includes the Museum of Modern Art and Brooklyn Museum, since 2007. The Center for the History of Collecting, also founded in 2007, is also part of the library. The Frick is a member of the International Consortium of Photo Archives (PHAROS), which operates a database of digitized artworks from the collections of 14 art museums. == Management ==

The Frick Collection is operated by a nonprofit organization of the same name, which is dedicated to conserving the artworks in the museum's collection. Axel Rüger was named the Frick's director in 2024, The director's position has been known as the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director since 2020, while the chief curator's position is known as the Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator. The museum's board of trustees originally comprised nine trustees At the end of 1936, the museum had seen 136,000 visitors, an average of 460 per day. although it recorded 420,000 visitors in 2013 due to a particularly popular exhibit there. Shows in the 2010s attracted upwards of 4,000 daily visitors. Free admission is also provided to members of the Frick; students and staff of certain universities in New York City; certain demographic groups such as youth, senior citizens, and people with disabilities; and other groups such as military personnel. Frick Collection members receive several membership benefits, including a queue jump for exhibits. As part of the Culture Pass program, persons with cards from New York City's public libraries could also visit the museum for free with a Culture Pass, albeit with restrictions on the number of passes distributed. Until 2019, the Frick also sold the Connoisseur Pass, which also provided admission to the Morgan Library & Museum and Neue Galerie New York. Children under the age of 10 are not allowed inside the museum; The guides are offered in several languages The Frick also launched its website in the late 1990s; Funding Frick's will established a $15 million endowment fund for what would become the Frick Collection museum. == Reception and commentary ==

20th-century commentary In 1912, before the collection had become a museum, Town & Country magazine wrote that Frick owned "one of the greatest private collections of paintings in the world". When the Frick Collection opened to the public in 1935, a critic for The New York Times wrote that the museum's "informality in the distribution of works of art has even its amusing overtones", while another commentator in The Christian Science Monitor regarded the collection as having "long been recognized as one of the world's treasuries of art". The New York Times wrote in 1969 that the Frick was one of the world's best "residence-museums" along with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Wallace Collection. John Russell of the Times said in 1981 that "The Frick is loved for its unpushy ways, for the largesse of its hospitality and for the high quality of what it has to show." another reviewer for the same newspaper said "The Frick is the only museum I know whose collection consists almost exclusively of great or nearly great art." Bryan Miller of the Times wrote in 1987 that there were "artistic gems in every room", and Grace Glueck of the same paper called it "the enclave of masterpieces". Another New York Times critic called the museum "as frumpy and elegant as a dowager queen", describing the quality of its collection and the Frick House. A Globe and Mail reviewer said the museum was extremely peaceful and was "a more comfortable museum than most" because it used to serve as a residence. 21st-century commentary A 2000 poll by Travel Holiday magazine ranked the Frick Collection as the third-best art museum in the U.S. Upon the museum's 75th anniversary in 2010, a Wall Street Journal critic wrote that, although the museum lacked major shows and had not undergone a high-profile renovation, it "quietly attracts a steady stream of about 300,000 visitors each year who come to see one of the most extraordinary assemblages of fine and decorative arts in the world". A critic for the Daily Telegraph wrote in 2014 that the Frick was "the best small museum in New York, perfect if you don't fancy dealing with a crush of people at MoMA or the Met". When the museum was temporarily relocated to 945 Madison Avenue, one critic wrote that the temporary building was "an exercise in contrasts" with the Frick House's decorations and that "the vibe here is serious and meditative". and writers for the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal similarly said that the spartan setting helped highlight the collection itself. Holland Cotter of The New York Times wrote that the museum's collection "looked glamorous as always but lonely for" the Frick House. == See also ==