History
The Photoarchive was established in 1920 to complement the growing body
of literature on the history of art, which until that time rarely included
photographic reproductions. Although many scholars had personal image
libraries, the Frick Library was one of the first institutions to afford public
access to a consolidated collection of photographs, thus enabling a broad range
of researchers to study and evaluate works of art in an entirely new way. The
establishment of similar image collections in Europe and the United States soon
followed.
In planning the Photoarchive,
Helen Clay Frick regularly consulted with Sir Robert Witt, whose personal library
of reproductions in London was her single most important source of inspiration.
She also turned to American and European scholars. In 1921 she wrote to the
distinguished architectural historian Fiske Kimball: “I am endeavoring to form
an Art Reference Library in connection with the Frick Collection for the use of
serious students of art. Eventually this library will comprise photographs of
all the paintings and drawings of representative artists, with complete
bibliographical and historical data…”
As early as 1922, Helen Clay Frick
organized photographic expeditions to record significant and rarely reproduced
works of art in Europe and the United States. The resulting collection of 56,000
original negatives, which in many cases document works of art that have
subsequently been altered, lost, or destroyed, has become one of the Library’s
most treasured resources.
The Library continues to acquire thousands
of photographs and digital images each year, focusing on unpublished or
little-known works. Staff photoarchivists make every effort to keep information
on changes of attribution and location current, often relying on data provided
by art researchers.
The Photoarchive thus remains a vital and growing source of both visual and
historical documentation.
William McKillop(?), Lawrence Park, and Gertrude Hill, photoexpedition to Virginia in 1922 |
