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January 16, 2019

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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.

photo of Margot Bogert
Margot Bogert Retires as Board Chair

Director Ian Wardropper thanks Margot Bogert, who recently retired as Chair of the Board of Trustees after twelve years.

photo of Oval Room of the Frick Collection with three Manet paintings
Letter from the Director: Fall 2019
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director Ian Wardropper discusses the Frick’s fall exhibitions focused on artists Bertoldo di Giovanni and Édouard Manet, as well as Meissen porcelain.
Book cover of "Hilma af Klint: A Pioneer of Abstraction," featuring a colorful abstract painting
Hilma af Klint: Beyond "Beyond the Visible"
The Frick Art Reference Library contains materials beyond the scope of the Frick’s permanent collection, including extensive holdings on modernism. In this post, Interlibrary Loan Assistant Cori Edmonds-Hutchinson, inspired by the documentary Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint, explores the library’s titles on the pioneering and enigmatic Swedish artist.
Man in a fedora stands in front of furniture and a wall with sconces and a framed portrait
The Frick's Velázquez in "The Maltese Falcon"
Christopher Snow Hopkins, Associate Editor, examines the appearance of the Frick’s King Philip IV of Spain by Diego Velázquez in the classic film The Maltese Falcon—a tantalizing cameo that has not been commented upon before.
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.
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.

oil painting depicting landscape of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples
Special Loan: Vesuvius in the Shadow of Revolution
Jenna Nugent, Assistant to the Chief Curator, writes about a loan by the French artist Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, which is currently on display in the North Hall. The landscape is one of only a few by Girodet executed during his time in Naples.
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.
Stack of six books on Asian and Pacific Islander American art history, against a gray background
Reading List: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2021
In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May, browse through a list of recommended reading from the Frick Art Reference Library. Consult the physical books in our reading room at Frick Madison or peruse the free e-books online, all of which highlight artistic contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.