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Art Collecting Files of Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), a Pittsburgh coke and steel industrialist, began forming his art collection in 1881, and continued to acquire works of art until his death in 1919. He bequeathed his New York City residence, furnishings, and art collection to be established as a public art gallery called The Frick Collection, which opened to the public in December 1935. This collection contains correspondence, invoices and financial records, catalogs, inventories, registers, notes, narrative descriptions, and printed material documenting the selection, purchase, exhibition, and disposition of art works in his collection from the years 1881 to 1925, with the bulk of the papers documenting purchases.
Online finding aid (view in ArchivesSpace)
Online finding aid (HTML version)
Series I: Purchases - Digital images
Series II: Catalogs and Works Exhibited - Digital images
Series III: Inventories and Lists - Digital images
Series IV: Correspondence - Digital images
Series V: Art Not Purchased - Digital images
Series VI: Printed Material and Miscellanea - Digital images
The Frick Collection Records
Frick Collection Records, 1881-present, consist of correspondence and memoranda, photographs, financial and legal records, minutes, printed material, and architectural records documenting the founding and administration of The Collection. Records also document art acquisitions, exhibitions, programs, and construction projects. Pre-1920 records include a portion of Henry Clay Frick’s art and furnishings files, the bulk of which can be found in the Frick Family Papers.
Frick Art Reference Library Records
Frick Art Reference Library records, 1920-present, consist of correspondence and memoranda, scrapbooks and diaries, financial records, reports, and photographs documenting the administration of the Library and the activities of its founder and director of 64 years, Helen Clay Frick. Records also document book and photograph acquisitions, building projects, staff research, publications, and photography expeditions.
Frick Family Papers
The papers of the Frick family date from the 1860s to the 1980s and consist of correspondence, photographs, albums and scrapbooks, diaries, financial records, printed material, and architectural records documenting the lives of Henry Clay Frick, his wife Adelaide, and their children, Helen Clay Frick and Childs Frick. These materials give valuable insight into the history of the Frick family and members of their circle, which included politicians, art dealers, business leaders, university officials, fellow art collectors, and philanthropists.
Manuscript Collections
Manuscript collections in The Frick Collection Archives consist primarily of art research files, art collectors' files, gallery records, images of artists and artwork, artists' sketchbooks and diaries, and artists' correspondence and personal papers, primarily acquired through donation.