Caitlin Henningsen

Historical photo of the Frick's West Gallery, 1935, with roped stanchions lining the walls
More Than a Museum: Early Responses to The Frick Collection
On the occasion of the museum’s 85th anniversary, discover the colorful early press reactions to The Frick Collection’s 1935 opening.
Detail of a chart titled "Bell Schedule & First Floor Electric Wiring"
Untold Histories: The Push of a Button

In this installment of Untold Histories, explore the relics of the Fricks' extensive annunciator system. This network of call bells connected the family to its staff and offers a glimpse into the rhythms of domestic service at 1 East 70th Street.

Two photo portraits of a woman, in sepia at left, and a man, in black at white at right
Untold Histories: Minerva Stone, Housekeeper (Part 2)

Housekeeper Minerva Stone is integral to the story of those who kept the Fricks’ Gilded Age home running. Though no personal accounts survive, we can paint a picture of Stone’s larger biography, lending context to the years she spent at the crossroads of her employer’s immense wealth and majority-immigrant staff.

photo of Minerva Stone, with short hair, wearing long necklace and fur collar
Untold Histories: Minerva Stone, Housekeeper (Part 1)
In this entry, we meet Minerva Stone, who occupied the post of housekeeper for nearly the entire time Henry Clay Frick lived at 1 East 70th Street. Stone oversaw the management of the family’s new home with meticulous attention to detail, eventually becoming the second highest-paid member of the household staff.
Five labeled buttons underneath decorative gold molding
Untold Histories: A Parallel Household
The debut post of "Untold Histories" introduces the behind-the-scenes staff of the Frick residence, a private home from 1914–31. Associate Museum Educator Caitlin Henningsen considers what remains of this domestic life in the museum today and examines the 1915 state census entry that inspired this ongoing project.
color photograph of oval gallery with grey walls, wooden pillars, polished floor, and skylight
Portraits, Pastels, Prints: Whistler in The Frick Collection
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Between 1914 and 1919, Henry Clay Frick acquired twenty works by James McNeill Whistler: five paintings, three pastels, and twelve prints, a remarkable ensemble that represents the breadth of Whistler’s artistic activity and testifies to Frick’s taste as a collector.

video still of What's Her Story, woman in black and white photo
What's Her Story: Ruth Berlin

The year 2020 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted millions of women in the U.S. the right to vote. The Frick is celebrating with a series of videos honoring the stories of women who made, appeared in, collected, and took care of art in this collection. Before the Frick opened as a museum, it was a sizably staffed home. Curator Aimee Ng and Associate Museum Educator Caitlin Henningsen continue the series with the story of Ruth Berlin, one of the Frick family's twenty-odd domestic workers.