| In the spring of 2006, Anne Poulet, Director of The Frick Collection announced a new initiative, to establish a Center for research dedicated to the History of Collecting in America at the Frick Art Reference Library. In doing so, the Frick builds on the strengths of the Library’s collections, whose photoarchive, catalogues for auctions, exhibitions, and public and private collections, and archives have historically served scholars intent on object-oriented research. The Library’s location in New York City has long contributed to making it a hub of research focused on art collecting and the art market.
The concept of a Center for the history of art collecting in America began to take shape at a colloquium held at the Frick in May 2005, when thirteen participants reached a clear consensus that such a center should exist to serve this new and growing field of inquiry, in which social-, cultural- and art historians, as well as interested laymen share a keen and mutually beneficial interest. Since the colloquium, dozens of additional meetings with potential advisors and collaborators have taken place and spurred development of the Center’s mission and programming.
The Mission of the Frick Center for the History of Collecting in America is to stimulate awareness of and study of the formation of fine- and decorative-arts collections, public and private, from colonial times to the present, while asserting the relevance of this subject to art- and cultural history.
Objectives:
- Through fellowships, the Center will support scholarship in the history of art collecting in America.
- Utilizing the strengths of the Frick Art Reference Library’s resources, it will provide service to scholars through development of research tools and by facilitating access to primary sources.
- Through symposia and conferences, it will foster public awareness of the significance of art collecting to American cultural and social history.
- It will actively encourage related academic programming for graduate students and seek the cooperation of and collaboration with museums, universities, and other research centers in the accomplishment of its goals.
Although the potential for future expansion is understood, the initial programs planned for the Center have been narrowed to the four listed below. For more information, follow the links to:
View the Press Release announcing the Center.
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