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Mission
The Frick Art Reference Library was founded in 1920 by Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984) as a memorial to her father, the industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919). Responding to the interest shown by Henry Clay Frick in learning more about the artists whose works he had purchased, Helen Clay Frick conducted research on her father's behalf. The data and documents that she shared with him would provide the nucleus for the Frick Art Reference Library. After her father's death, Miss Frick founded the Library to further his goals for The Frick Collection: “to encourage and develop the study of the fine arts, and to advance the general knowledge of kindred subjects.” Until her death, Miss Frick was steadfast in her devotion to the Frick Art Reference Library and continued to attend to every detail of its development and management.
Founding
From 1920 to 1924 the Library was housed in the bowling alley in the basement of the family residence (now The Frick Collection); for the next decade it occupied a single-story structure designed by Thomas Hastings at 6 East 71st Street. The Library opened its doors to the public at its present location, adjoining the Collection, in 1934. The new thirteen-story structure was designed by John Russell Pope, who transformed the residence during the same period as part of an overall project to create two important public institutions dedicated to the study and appreciation of art.
Inspiration
Helen Clay Frick was inspired by Sir Robert Witt’s Library of reproductions, now part of the Courtauld Institute in London. Adapting Witt’s systematic classification and detailed documentation of photographs, Miss Frick also collected bibliographic material to establish a research center for the public where image and text could be used together to gain a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of Western art. To achieve this goal, Miss Frick obtained the advice of countless scholars and experts.
Photo expeditions
As early as 1922, Miss Frick commissioned photo-expeditions to record significant and seldom reproduced works of art in Europe and America. With characteristic determination and resourcefulness she gained access to otherwise inaccessible private collections with the help of art experts and photographers such as Lawrence Park, Mario Sansoni, and W. W. S. Cook. Over the next four decades, the Library amassed a collection of over 56,000 negatives that are today among its most valued resources. In many cases, these negatives record works that have subsequently been damaged, altered, lost, or destroyed.
War Years
During World War II, the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas was based at the Library. The commission used the Library’s visual records and location indexes to help pinpoint sites of important works of art that should be spared the devastations of war. For six months the Library closed its doors to the public in order to serve the war effort. After the war, these records were used to aid in the repatriation of art and continue to be used for this purpose.
Library's Growth
Today the scope of the Library’s resources has grown to include institutional archives and electronic resources. Although the Library was founded as a separate institution, financially supported almost entirely by Miss Frick until 1984, it is now an integral part of The Frick Collection and serves as a singular resource for the study and appreciation of art and its history.
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