The Frick Collection Report The Frick Collection Report On view in the Living Hall, this magnificent Mantel Clock (Pendule de cheminée), c. ‒, has a movement and dial signed by Thuret and a case by André-Charles Boulle. The clock case is made of hardwoods veneered with intricate and symmetrical marquetry designs composed of tortoiseshell and metal, the hallmark of Boulle furniture, and decorated with gilt-bronze mounts. It was bequeathed to The Frick Collection by Winthrop Edey in . The Frick Collection Board of Trustees Council of The Frick Collection Board of Trustees Contents Council of The Frick Collection Report of the President Henry Clay Frick II Nicholas H. J. Hall, Chairman Report of the Director Joseph L. Koerner, Vice Chairman Curatorial Julian Agnew Exhibitions & Lectures Helen Clay Chace Mrs. Russell B. Aitken Publications Jean A. Bonna Concerts W. Mark Brady Frick Art Reference Library Howard Phipps, Jr. Jonathan Brown Public Affairs, Development & Communications Christopher Burge Gifts during Mrs. William Stratton Clark Fellows of The Frick Collection L. F. Boker Doyle Peter Duchin Associates of the Frick Art Reference Library Mauro A. Herlitzka Sustaining Friends Diane Allen Nixon Corporate Members Paul G. Pennoyer, Jr. Richard E. Oldenburg Young Fellows Steering Committee Paul G. Pennoyer, Jr. Fête Galante Committee Samuel Sachs II, ex officio Financial Statements Margot C. Bogert Melvin R. Seiden Staff Deirdre C. Stam Credits I. Townsend Burden III Walter J. P. Curley Emily T. Frick Nicholas H. J. Hall, ex officio Enid A. Haupt Melvin R. Seiden The signs of a new vitality at The Frick Collection in that have received critical and popular acclaim over future. Your help is sincerely sought and deeply recent years, and particularly in , have been plenti- the last two decades. The debt that the trustees and appreciated. ful. Our heightened visibility in the community as well the institution owe to Clay is immeasurable. He has The second initiative is the launching of our first as in the press, engaging exhibitions such as The Medieval paved the way for the next generation of the family formal strategic planning process. This exciting Housebook, and fanciful evenings such as the enormously and their fellow trustees to continue the steady and endeavor has prompted a thoughtful review of our successful Fête Galante are all signs of renewal for an thoughtful development of this institution. Thus it is mission, values, and objectives and is already provid- institution that some had regarded as unchanging and with enormous gratitude and pride that I assume my ing clarity concerning the standards we seek to pre- rather staid. In truth, the Collection has been evolving responsibilities as president of The Frick Collection. I serve, even as we work to chart the course for steadily since its founding more than eighty years ago; can think of no greater honor or challenge than to tomorrow. I look forward, a year from now, to report- yet by staying true to the vision of Henry Clay Frick, dedicate myself to the preservation and animation of ing in depth on these initiatives, and I am confident Report of we have been able to guide change and maintain the this remarkable house, collection, and library. I am that the fruits of these efforts already will be evident Collection’s essence. Knowing what to preserve and confident that with the help and encouragement of in the way we conduct our programs and services. the President what to open to innovation in a museum that is my wonderful colleagues on the Board, and the superb I cannot close this report without words of grati- beloved by so many for its time-honored traditions is staff, The Frick Collection will continue to prosper. tude to some of the persons who have helped make one of the greatest challenges that we face—and we are I am happy to report that we are off to a very this a special year. My thanks again, above all, to my ever mindful of the balancing act that is crucial to our good start. From an operational perspective, was uncle, Clay Frick, who has assumed the title of chair- Helen Clay Chace , success. a banner year. Our attendance hit yet another record man. Thanks also to the trustees and to our wonder- One aspect of the Collection that has been steadfast high with , visitors, and the accompanying ful staff, under the imaginative and tireless leadership since the death of Mr. Frick in is the seriousness financials show an operating surplus of ,,.. of Sam Sachs. The Council of The Frick Collection with which his descendents have taken the obligation of While we continue to spend substantially in excess of has been a continued source of wisdom and encour- preserving his legacy. The responsibility to lead has that for capital repair and renovation, our cash flow agement, as well. I am extremely grateful to Patrick passed successively to his wife, Adelaide H. C. Frick; to has remained positive, and we are optimistic that our Gerschel, who steps down from the chairmanship of his son, Childs Frick; and, in , to his grandson, Dr. fundraising will allow this important work to con- that body after two years, for his friendship, spirit, Henry Clay Frick II. Uncle Clay, as I have called him tinue unabated in the years to come. We have nearly and generosity. Finally, my special thanks to one of all my life, has served as a trustee of this institution completed re-roofing the building, have begun the this city’s leading lights, a generous donor to The with passion and dedication for a total of forty-seven exterior stonework and shutter and window restora- Frick Collection, the honoree of the Fête Galante, and a years. tion, and have completed the renovation of the mentor of mine for many years, Brooke Astor. During his thirty-five-year tenure as president, he has Library offices. overseen accomplishments that are far too numerous to Two of the most significant initiatives for are list, but surely the highlights would include working largely unseen by the general public, and yet they hold with four distinguished directors, the appointment of great promise for the future of this institution. The the Collection’s first curator, the acquisition of such first is our successful application to the Internal Rev- notable works of art as Jean-Antoine Watteau’s The Por- enue Service for termination as a private operating tal of Valenciennes, a percent net increase in the value foundation and the approval of our status as a public of our endowment, the creation of the Friends and Fel- charity. This rather arcane-sounding change reflects lows membership programs, the second expansion of our commitment to be responsive to our public and the building in the s, the incorporation of the earn its support. We are determined to involve a Helen Clay Chace and Samuel Sachs II, Director Frick Art Reference Library in the s (and our first broader community in every aspect of our programs, successful fund drive to raise million to sustain it), development, and governance. Inherent in that resolve the publication of the first eight volumes of The Frick is the recognition that we must turn increasingly to Collection: An Illustrated Catalogue (as well as many other our members and donors, old and new, for the finan- publications), and a roster of extraordinary exhibitions cial support necessary to achieve our goals for the As I look back at , I am struck by the progress lections. I should like to express a particular note of no less than three single-painting loan shows that, by that we have made in increasing our accessibility, out- appreciation to Director Pierre Théberge and Deputy themselves or in conjunction with works of our own, reach, and collaboration with other institutions. It is a Director and Chief Curator Colin B. Bailey for their enabled us to highlight a special aspect of the Collec- year that will be remembered for our record number assistance. tion. With François-Hubert Drouais’s portrait Madame of visitors and exhibitions, our greatly expanded Following quickly on the heels of the aforemen- de Pompadour from the National Gallery, London, we involvement with teachers and students, and our tioned exhibition was The Medieval Housebook, a rare were able to put one of the glories of eighteenth- unprecedented bookshop sales. I am happy I can no opportunity to view a remarkable manuscript while it century French painting on public view in the United longer say that The Frick Collection is one of New was temporarily unbound and in sheets to enable a States for the first time. This was followed, in the York’s best kept secrets. Around the city, around the facsimile edition. We were extremely fortunate to be summer, by Manet’s The Dead Toreador and The Bull- country, and around the world, the word is out. We able to step in to retain a New York venue for this fight: Fragments of a Lost Salon Painting Reunited, which Report of are proud to make the artistic and intellectual riches exhibition, once destined for the Metropolitan brought together from The Frick Collection and the of this extraordinary institution available to an Museum of Art, and we are doubly grateful that National Gallery of Art, Washington, the two extant the Director increasingly diverse public, and we are dedicated to Timothy Husband, Curator, Medieval Art and The pieces of Edouard Manet’s monumental painting. making the experience of visiting the Collection— Cloisters, was able to organize the show for us and This was the first time the two pieces of this work whether in the galleries, in the Library, or through our write the catalogue for the exhibition.