Discoveries in Photoarchive

January 16, 2019

Image Grid List View
Half-length portrait of a young woman dressed in a short-sleeved white dress and a shawl in a chair.
Art and Fashion

The first in a series of blog entries focusing on conservation “interventions” as recorded in the holdings of the Frick Art Reference Library Photoarchive is this elegant portrait of Mrs. William Bedlow Crosby attributed to Eliab Metcalf (1785‒1834), which underwent substantial restoration before 1940.

Botanical illustration of three blue flowers on a stem, a caterpillar, and a moth
Reading List: Women's History Month
In honor of Women’s History Month, discover ten free e-books available through the Frick Art Reference Library’s catalog that celebrate a wide range of women artists, art historians, and collectors throughout history.
Two book covers on a white shelf, each featuring a portrait of a woman
Reading List: Portraiture
In celebration of our acclaimed special exhibition Barkley L. Hendricks: Portraits at the Frick, Joey Vincennie, Reference Lead, presents a recommended reading list from the collection of the Frick Art Reference Library exploring how artists have crafted portraits throughout history.
Two photographs of a small devotional altarpiece of the Madonna and Child
Kress Foundation Grant for Image Analysis Toolkit

The Frick Art Reference Library Photoarchive recently received a $25,000 grant from the Kress Foundation to support the creation of a toolkit that will perform computer vision analysis on digitized art historical photo archives. This toolkit will be a groundbreaking application of technology that will transform the way photo archives are used.

Stack of six books on LGBTQ+ art history with spines showing against a gray background
Reading List: Pride Month 2021
Happy Pride Month from the Frick Art Reference Library! Celebrate by discovering a selection of recommended reads (both hardcover titles and freely accessible e-books) that spotlight LGBTQ+ art, artists, and history.
Auction catalog detail listing paintings by Rembrandt with handwritten annotations
One Hundred Years at the Library: Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!
Celebrating one hundred years of the Frick Art Reference Library, Suz Massen, Associate Chief Librarian for Access, explores a selection from the library’s over 100,000 auction catalogs. These materials are invaluable for researchers piecing together the history of an object or collection.
Drawing of a massive townhouse standing on the corner of a busy intersection in mid-century Manhatta
Intimate Sketches of New York

One of the most popular series completed by the American illustrator Vernon Howe Bailey was his "Intimate Sketches of New York," which records the city during a period of dramatic growth — and change.

Horizontal stack of 8 library books on Hispanic American art history
Reading List: National Hispanic Heritage Month
The Frick Art Reference Library offers a recommended reading list from its collection in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The selected titles explore a wide array of contributions by Hispanic and Latinx artists, collectors, and scholars, vital fixtures in the history of the art in the United States.
Book spread with a modernist painting at left and a portrait of a man smoking a pipe at right
Reading List: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2024
We’re celebrating AAPI Heritage Month with a recommended reading list from the Frick Art Reference Library! Discover the work of a variety of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American artists and scholars through books from our collection.
A color drawing of a vase filled with colorful tulips with a small bird's nest
Selections from the William H. Schab Gift