The Frick Collection annual report july 2010 – june 2011 The Frick Collection annual report july 2010 – june 2011 leadership 2 Board of Trustees reports 3 Margot Bogert, Chairman 6 Anne L. Poulet, Director 8 Colin B. Bailey, Associate Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator 11 Stephen Bury, Andrew W. Mellon Chief Librarian collection 13 Museum Acquisitions 13 Noteable Library Acquisitions public programming 15 Exhibitions 15 Lectures 17 Free Public Evenings 17 Symposia 17 Publications 18 Concerts financial statements 19 Statement of Financial Position 20 Statement of Activities donor support and membership 21 Gifts and Grants 25 Fellows and Friends 32 Corporate Members and Sponsors staff 33 The Frick Collection 36 Frick Art Reference Library cover Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430/1435–1516), detail of St. Francis in the Desert, c. 1475–78, oil on poplar panel, The Frick Collection; photograph by Michael Bodycomb The Frick Collection Board of Trustees As of June 30, 2011 Margot Bogert, Chairman Walter A. Eberstadt, Vice Chairman Franklin W. Hobbs, Treasurer John P. Birkelund, Secretary Peter P. Blanchard III L. F. Boker Doyle Blair Effron Jean-Marie Eveillard Barbara G. Fleischman Emily T. Frick Martha Loring Anne L. Poulet, ex officio Juan Sabater Stephen A. Schwarzman Aso O. Tavitian Helen Clay Chace President Emerita I. Townsend Burden III Walter Joseph Patrick Curley Howard Phipps Jr. Trustees Emeriti Annual Report July 2010–June 2011 2 optimistic that the year ahead will continue range of high-profile media coverage, includ- Report of the Chairman on a steady course. ing a substantial “Why the Frick Matters” Margot Bogert I am happy to report that the physical article published in the Wall Street Journal. plant is in excellent condition following the In January the Frick lost a dear friend, completion of a multi-year refurbishment Trustee Melvin R. Seiden, whose enthusiasm his past year marked an important project, which made significant and much and support for the Frick were boundless. T turning point for The Frick Collection. needed improvements to the galleries and to Mel served on the Frick Council for more After a lengthy and comprehensive search the building itself. Included in this project than a decade before becoming a Trustee process, the Board of Trustees approved the was the renovation of the Boucher Room and in 2000. He was a passionate advocate for selection of Ian Wardropper as the institu- the installation in the room of a new lighting the Frick Art Reference Library, and over tion’s eighth Director. Dr. Wardropper, the system designed by Renfro Design Group. the years provided substantial funding for Chairman of the Department of European Additionally, the Conservation Department numerous Library initiatives, special exhi- Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The worked with the Engineering Department bitions, and curatorial activities—typically Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a con- to install new lighting in the West Gallery, in honor of friends or scholars whom he summate scholar and administrator and is which was specifically designed to enhance admired. To honor his memory, more than superbly equipped to guide this fine institu- the works of art without disrupting the gal- three hundred of Mel’s friends and col- tion into the future. He will begin his tenure lery’s ambiance. Following two years of mon- leagues gathered at the Frick in April for a as Director in October 2011. itoring the environmental conditions within service jointly hosted by The Frick Collection The next administration will begin on the display cases in the Enamels Room, and The Morgan Library & Museum. We all solid financial footing owing, in part, to the the Conservation Department, with support shall miss his extraordinary intelligence and extraordinary fundraising success during provided by the National Endowment for dedication. the past twelve months, despite an espe- the Humanities, upgraded and renovated the In June, Blair W. Effron was elected cially challenging fiscal environment. As cases in order to ensure optimal environmen- to the Board of Trustees. Mr. Effron is a ever, support from the Director’s Circle, tal conditions for the museum’s highly sensi- distinguished financier who brings signifi- our Visiting Committees, and the Annual tive collection of Renaissance enamels. While cant experience with a number of not-for- Fund continues to grow and serves as the the bronze frames and curved glass façades profit institutions in New York. This year lifeblood of the institution. This successful were preserved, the body of the cases was also marked the departure from the Board fundraising—combined with the concerted replaced with tightly sealed versions capable of Agnes Gund, I. Townsend Burden, and efforts of the staff to hold down expenses— of maintaining relative humidity levels. George Wachter. I am grateful for their many has helped us to close out the year with a Our yearlong seventy-fifth anniversary years of service and thank them for their modest operating surplus at a time when celebration culminated with a day of free dedication and generosity to this institution. many nonprofit organizations continue to admission on December 16, the date in 1935 Last year’s Annual Report announced struggle. With the help of a market turn- when the Frick first opened its doors to the the plan to enclose the portico in the Fifth around and the wise counsel of the Trustees, public. Nearly two thousand people helped Avenue Garden in order to create a new our endowment (which provides the largest us commemorate this important milestone, gallery specifically for the display of sculp- component of our operating support) has taking advantage of gallery talks and of the ture, porcelain, and other decorative arts rebounded well and now stands twenty opportunity to view Frick family archival that are currently displayed in galleries and percent higher than a year ago. While these films that were presented in the Garden hallways throughout the museum. We are times remain financially precarious, I am Court. This occasion also resulted in a wide immensely grateful to Henry H. Arnhold, Annual Report July 2010–June 2011 3 whose foundation underwrote the gallery’s and activities celebrating the special exhibi- took a group to Rhode Island, where par- construction, and we are actively raising tion Rembrandt and His School: Masterworks ticipants toured several historic mansions endowment funds to support the costs of from the Frick and Lugt Collections. Curatorial and visited private homes and collections maintaining this additional space. The proj- and education staff together with docents in Providence and Newport that are not ect is well underway and is expected to be led a total of fifteen gallery talks during the regularly open to the public. In the spring, completed before the end of the 2011 calen- course of the event, which introduced more she led a trip to Spain with Senior Curator dar year. than a thousand first-time visitors to the per- Susan Grace Galassi in anticipation of the This year’s special exhibitions included manent collection. Picasso exhibition opening in October 2011. many superb works from museums around Also in May, the Center for the History Beginning in Barcelona, the group trav- the world, beautifully reflecting the Frick’s of Collecting in America at the Frick Art eled on to Málaga, Córdoba, Granada, permanent collection and drawing much Reference Library changed its name to the and Seville. Over the years, the travel pro- deserved attention to some of its finest works. Center for the History of Collecting to reflect gram has become an important way for I am pleased to report that the special exhi- more accurately the scope of the Center’s us to strengthen relationships with existing bitions of the past twelve months were fully research. In addition to its ongoing initia- donors while simultaneously reaching out to funded by outside grants. We were especially tives, the Center entered into a collaborative new friends. grateful to receive a gift of $500,000 from the project with the Archives of American Art Between October and May, the Frick pre- Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, which will sup- to create oral histories of twenty American sented ten concerts as part of its Sunday con- port our exhibition program over the next art collectors. We are grateful to the Leon cert series. The season included piano soloists, ten years. Reflecting the vibrant schedule Levy Foundation, the Samuel H. Kress quartets, a lieder recitalist, a guitarist, a violin of special exhibitions and public programs, Foundation, Janine Luke, the late Melvin R. soloist, a string trio, and a baroque ensemble attendance and membership have been Seiden, Barbara G. Fleischman, and others with harpsichord. There were six New York robust and continue to increase steadily. who generously supported the Center. debuts by artists from Britain, Argentina, Members of the Board and other friends The Frick Art Reference Library had France, Canada, and the United States. All of responded quickly and generously to a $2 a very strong year and was the recipient the concerts were taped by WQXR Radio for million challenge grant from the Andrew of a number of substantial grants, includ- future broadcast and webcast. W. Mellon Foundation to endow the Anne ing a $300,000 grant from the National The activities mentioned here give only L. Poulet Curatorial Fellowship Program. Endowment for the Humanities for the digi- an indication of the scope and impact of the Formerly known as the Andrew W. Mellon tization of photographic negatives in its col- countless interactions that happen every day Curatorial Fellowship Program, the initia- lection. We were honored that the Library at The Frick Collection. I am extraordinarily tive is considered to be a model of its kind, was selected to be the subject of an entire proud of the hard work and dedication of the its participants contributing vitally to the episode of the documentary television series staff who make possible these accomplish- intellectual life and offerings of the Frick “Great Libraries of the World,” which aired ments, and whose names are listed at the end by conducting new research, lecturing, and on PBS in June.