|
Current Exhibition
The Frick Art Reference Library's Dutch Cousin: Frederik Johannes Lugt
Frederik (frits) Johannes Lugt (1884–1970) is
known to connoisseurs of Old Master drawings for his
discerning eye and the exceptional collection of more
than 37,000 works on paper that forms the core of the
Fondation Custodia, which he founded in Paris in 1947.
His legacy to art history and the history of collecting
reaches well beyond this achievement, however,
because of his role in establishing the Rijksbureau
voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD, or The
Netherlands Institute for Art History) in The Hague, and because of the invaluable concordances of auction
catalogues and collectors’ marks that he published and
that are still used by scholars today. With little formal
education, but the luxury of financial stability that came
with his marriage to the daughter of a coal magnate, Lugt
devoted his life to the advancement of the study of art.
In doing so, he proved himself to be a kindred spirit to
his almost exact contemporary, Helen Clay Frick, who
founded this Library.
Frits Lugt and the Frick Art Reference Library
Well before Frits Lugt came to live in the United States during
World War II, he was aware of the benefits of partnership with
his American “cousin.” Not only did his research agent C.W.E.
van Haaften spend months at the Library compiling information
about the Frick’s catalogues, but Lugt himself sought the advice of Head Librarian Ethelwyn Manning as to how
he could most effectively present the entries on the printed
page. During the war years, Lugt’s personal contact with the
Library and The Frick Collection took different forms. In one
instance, he agreed to give a lecture on art sales catalogues and
in 1943 he was among dozens of art historians designated by
the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to advise
the War Department’s Roberts Commission on the protection of cultural treasures in areas of Europe devastated by war.
This exhibition was developed, designed, fabricated, and installed with the help of:
Cynthia Biber, Julie Di Filippo, Felix Esquivel, Pinky Fung, George Koelle,
Kelli Piotrowski, Inge Reist, Louisa Wood Ruby, and Don Swanson.
Click to view the exhibition brochure.
The document in the above link is in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF file format). Adobe® Acrobat® Reader is required to view the documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader Software.
|
