The Oval Room — Historical Note
The Oval Room, the first of the group of rooms added to the Collection in the 1931-35 remodeling, provides an imposing setting for Houdon’s life-size terracotta Diana the Huntress. This sculpture is a version of a marble figure executed for the Duke of Saxe-Gotha but acquired instead by Catherine the Great (now in the Museu Gulbenkian, Lisbon). Mr. Frick had apparently contemplated the construction of such an oval gallery for the display of his sculptures; the Houdon piece alone recalls that intention.
Within the symmetrical disposition of the Oval Room, four full-length portraits by Van Dyck and Gainsborough confront each other, in a clear demonstration of how closely the English artist emulated his predecessor’s grand style in portraiture, even to the point of depicting The Hon. Frances Duncombe in seventeenth-century dress associated with Van Dyck.
Works of Art
Use the following link to see a list of works of art in the Oval Room.
Tour the Oval Room
 Click on the photo bubble to place yourself virtually inside of the Oval Room. Click on art objects for a closer view, descriptive text and a brief artist’s biography.
For technical information and support, see Virtual Tour Help.
Acoustiguide Audio Tour Commentary
Associate Curator Susan Grace Galassi comments on two Whistler portraits as they appeared in the Oval Room during the 1995-96 exhibition The Butterfly and The Bat: Whistler and Montesquiou. The Portraits are Symphony in Flesh Color and Pink: Portrait of Mrs. Frances Leyland and Harmony in Pink and Gray: Lady Meux.
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