The Frick

At long last, I finally got to the Frick Collection. After living in New York for twenty years I decided that it was time to see what they had to offer.

The reason that I had delayed so long going to the Frick was that I had been there before when I was first in New York and I thought that it was really boring. Reason number two: Cost too much to go in. I was pleasantly surprised to see the collection. The building that houses the collection is also part of the appeal of the place. It was the former home of Henry Clay Frick, a "Pittsburgh coke and steel industrialist" according to the brochure. I enjoyed walking through the rooms and tried to imagine what it would have been like living in the house when Frick was alive.

As I am not an art historian, I will just give you a few of my impressions of the collection. I like the guide to the collection. It had some interesting things to say about the subjects of the works of art. The identity of the sitters, who they were friends with, etc. Most museums omit that kind of stuff and concentrate on the characteristics of the artist's style and composition.

My favorite works were some Gainsborough, Ingre and Halls portraits. They really capture the life force of their subjects. Also, Halls has this terrific, loose, un-fussy way of painting details. It was interesting to see the Turners, but they are not especially good. I don't really like Whistler, but they have several works also. There are wonderful Vermeer's and also Hogarth.

Lately, I have become a real fan of Hogarth, especially his satirical works. The portrait of Thomas Moore by Holbein is incredible. It is practically photographic in its exactitude.