(Re)Visiting the Frick Madison

I grabbed a few postcards at the gift shop for my collection and gifts for friends

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Last week, we made a long-overdue visit to the Frick Collection at their temporary home in the old Whitney Museum (945 Madison Avenue) in Manhattan. A brutalist monstrosity, one would be hard-pressed to find a more inappropriate space for such wondrous works of art. The juxtaposition of modern architectural styles with more traditional Western high art only calls to attention that we are living among the ruins of a once-great civilization. Thankfully, as soon as you are amid the treasures, the gloominess of the outside world quickly disappears and we are reminded that art was meant to elevate (not crush) the soul.

Disappointed at first that I couldn’t take any pictures to share with our readers, I must admit it was nice to not have to “work” for a change and just live in the moment. In fact, our excursion was so enjoyable that we went back again this week and took it all in once more.

The temporary Brutalist home for the Frick Collection on Madison Avenue

A remarkable collection, masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Sir Anthony Van Dyck, among many others, are currently on display. Personal favorites include the Progress of Love canvases by Jean-Honore Fragonard, the dramatic landscapes of J.M.W. Turner, The Lake (1861) by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Lady Hamilton as "Nature" (1782) by George Romney, and the portrait of Julia, Lady Peel (1827) by Thomas Lawrence.

Partial to the Italian and Spanish masters, I especially enjoyed seeing the works of Paolo Veneziano, Titian, Goya and El Greco. The Portrait of King Philip IV of Spain (1644) by Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez; the Three Philosophers (1509) by Giorgione (currently on loan from Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum); and the Temptation of Christ on the Mountain (1308-11) by Duccio di Buoninsegna were among the best.

In addition to the paintings, there were quite a few sculptures on view. The bronze portrait bust of Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba (1571) by Jacques Jonghelinck and marble busts of A Woman (ca.1470s) and Beatrice of Aragon (1472-74) by Francesco Laurana were fortunate surprises. If I'm not mistaken, the last time I got to see Laurana's regal statuary was back in 2012 at The Renaissance Portrait: From Donatello to Bellini exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In a gallery dedicated to bronze statuettes and reliefs, there were two display cases on the south wall filled with commemorative portrait medals drawn from the incomparable Scher collection. Pisanello’s Leonello d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara (ca. 1445); Adriano Fiorentino’s Ferdinand II of Aragon as Prince of Capua (ca.1494) and Girolamo Santcroce’s likeness of the great Neapolitan humanist poet Jacopo Sannazaro (ca.1524) were just some of the highlights. I know everything can't be on display, but I was hoping to see the works of medalist Giovanni Filangieri di Candida again.

The Carrère and Hastings mansion is currently under renovation

While no institution is perfect and without some modernist corruption, I have to say that aside from the building facade it was refreshingly minimal at the Frick Madison. We recommend visiting but take note that its temporary location will be closing on March 3, 2024. Departing the Madison Avenue venue, the collection will finally be returning to the newly restored and enhanced (not to mention more suitable) 1914 Carrère and Hastings mansion (1 East 70th Street) later this year.