2012

Exhibitions presented at The Frick Collection during 2012.

Past Exhibition: Picasso's Drawings

Close up of a drawing of a woman's face.
Picasso's Drawings, 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition
October 4, 2011 to January 8, 2012

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) is generally acknowledged to be the greatest draftsman of the twentieth century. The Frick Collection, New York, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.,  co-organized an exhibition that looked at the dazzling development of Picasso's drawings, from the precocious academic exercises of his youth in the 1890s to the virtuoso classical works of the early 1920s.

Past Exhibition: Johann Christian Neuber

gold four-legged table with ornate decoration
Gold, Jasper, and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court
May 30, 2012 to August 19, 2012

Since antiquity, gemstones (also known as hard or semiprecious stones) have been cut and polished for use in jewelry, in the creation of vases and cups, and in the decoration of palaces. Rediscovered and developed in sixteenth-century Florence, pietra dura (hard stone) objects were collected and sometimes used as political propaganda among the Medici. A sign of wealth, taste, and power, they were also offered as diplomatic gifts or acquired by foreign sovereigns.

Past Presentation: Vincent van Gogh

oil painting of man from shoulders up in green coat and yellow hat with blue background
Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of a Peasant (Patience Escalier)
October 30, 2012 to January 20, 2013

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) painted his Portrait of a Peasant (Patience Escalier) in August 1888 during a highly productive fifteen-month stay in Arles in southern France. The opportunity to display this work in New York was the result of a special exchange program between the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, and The Frick Collection and marked the first time in forty years that the painting had left its home institution.

Past Exhibition: Mantegna to Matisse

chalk drawing in of woman from waist up in large dress with dark headpiece
Mantegna to Matisse: Master Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery
October 2, 2012 to January 27, 2013

In keeping with its tradition of exhibiting masterworks from collections outside of New York, the Frick presented fifty-eight drawings from The Courtauld Gallery, London. This exhibition marked the first time that so many of the principal drawings in The Courtauld's renowned collection — one of Britain's most important — have been made available for loan. The prized sheets represent a survey of the extraordinary draftsmanship of Italian, Dutch, Flemish, German, Spanish, British, and French artists active between the late Middle Ages and the early twentieth century.

Past Exhibition: Antico

bronze sculpture of standing male mythical figure with arm raised and golden cape
Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes
May 1, 2012 to July 29, 2012

Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes was the first monographic exhibition in the United States dedicated to Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico (c. 1455–1528). As sculptor to the Gonzaga courts at Mantua and in northern Italy, Antico earned his name, "the antique one," for his creation in the classical style of statuettes, reliefs, and busts that are distinguished by their opulence and beauty.

Past Exhibition: Renoir

oil painting of mother with two girls, one with doll
Renoir, Impressionism, and Full-Length Painting
February 7, 2012 to May 13, 2012

In early 2012, The Frick Collection presented an exhibition of nine iconic Impressionist paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, offering the first comprehensive study of the artist's engagement with the full-length format, which was associated with the official Paris Salon in the decade that saw the emergence of a fully fledged Impressionist aesthetic.

Past Exhibition: Former Director Charles Ryskamp's Bequest

painting of green and purple fruits on branch with leaves
A Passion for Drawings: Charles Ryskamp's Bequest to The Frick Collection
February 14, 2012 to April 8, 2012

The Frick Collection celebrated the generosity and discerning taste of former Director Charles A. Ryskamp (1928–2010) with an exhibition of works on paper from his bequest. Dr. Ryskamp's generous gift transformed the museum's holdings in drawings, enlarging them by nearly a third, while complementing the permanent collection's focus on the landscape and figural subjects favored by Henry Clay Frick. The works were exhibited for the first time at the Frick in the Cabinet, a space created by Dr. Ryskamp during his tenure as Director from 1987 to 1997 and intended especially for the display of works on paper.

Past Exhibition

Green porcelain teapot with orange fish decorations.
White Gold: Highlights from the Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain
December 13, 2011 to January 6, 2013

New Portico Gallery Opened with Presentation of Sculpture and Selections from an Important Promised Gift of Meissen Porcelain from Henry H. Arnhold