Discoveries in Photoarchive

January 16, 2019

Image Grid List View
Painting of Jesus carrying the cross
Taddeo's Treasures in the Frick Photoarchive
As a look back on the final special exhibition at Frick Madison, Bellini and Giorgione in the House of Taddeo Contarini, Photoarchivist Emily Stein explores some of the other works of art in Contarini’s collection that are documented in the Frick Photoarchive.
Image depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ Child.
The Madonna of Einsiedeln
Detail of a sketch of a saint beneath the Virgin Mary on a pedestal holding the infant Jesus
Ars Longa: The Turbulent Fate of Raphael's Baronci Altarpiece
Reproductions in the Frick’s Photoarchive allow us to piece together a full visual history of Raphael’s Baronci Altarpiece, the first recorded commission of the High Renaissance master. The altarpiece—today found only in fragments—sat peacefully for nearly three hundred years until a devastating earthquake and looting by Napoleon changed its fate permanently.
Stack of books next to a book whose cover features an artwork of oranges
Reading List: A Feast for the Eyes
Eat, drink, and be merry! In celebration of National Cookbook Month this October, sink your teeth into a selection of recommended reads from the Frick Art Research Library focused on food and drink represented throughout the history of art.
Black and white photograph of a monumental wall tomb
Looking Closely

Scholars celebrate photo archives for providing access to little-known works of art housed in private collections or in circulation on the art market. A feature of photo archives such as the Frick’s that is less often appreciated, however, is how comprehensively they document famous works of art on public view.

Fifteen women standing in a row in front of a building
One Hundred Years at the Library: A Dedicated Staff
In commemoration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Frick Art Reference Library, Sally Brazil, Barbara G. Fleischman Associate Chief Librarian for Archives and Records Management, looks back on the lifeblood of the library through the decades—its incredible staff. Discover photographs, scrapbooks, drawings, and archival materials documenting the contributions of generations of knowledgeable staff members, who have guided the library’s mission and growth over the past century.
Stack of books next to a book cover featuring a colorfully painted draped canvas
Reading List: Black History Month 2025
To celebrate Black History Month, the Frick Art Research Library presents a reading list from our collections that highlights the work of a variety of Black artists, gallerists, arts workers, scholars, and collectors.
Black-and-white photograph of a light fixture.
Alfred Cook's "Progress Photographs"
From 1931 to 1935, Alfred Cook, a footman to the Frick family, documented the transformation of the Frick’s Gilded Age mansion into a public art gallery and research center in a series of evocative “progress photographs.”
Painting of couple in 17th-century clothing, the woman overlaid with women from other paintings
One Hundred Years at the Library: From Prints to Pixels
As we continue to celebrate the Frick Art Reference Library’s one-hundredth anniversary, Kerri A. Pfister, Photoarchivist, guides us through the library’s collections of reproductions, which have enabled the widespread study of art history. From printmaking to photography to digital imagery, the library has offered cutting-edge technologies through the ages to fulfill its mission of making art resources accessible to the public. Objects featured in this post are part of the celebratory publication One Hundred Objects in the Frick Art Reference Library, available in the Frick’s shop.
Black-and-white image of a portrait of a woman in a hat looking to the left and smiling.
One Portrait, Two Identifications
Among the many images reproduced in the collection of the Frick Art Reference Library's Photoarchive is a stunning likeness of a vivacious young woman in a feathered hat. Thanks to the Library's photographic campaigns, the true identity of the sitter as well as the correct attribution of the portrait are part of the art-historical record.